Pitchblack Past
by Nexos23
Summary: Things have never gone according to plan for Chris. Never, that is, until he starts to get attention from the last person he'd expect. A person who has a secret as dark as his own.
1. Life sucks

Disclaimer: I don't own 'em. And what I do own, you probably wouldn't want anyways, so please don't sue.

A/N: This is a story that's been festering in my head for awhile now, so I decided to finally just go ahead and get it out here. This is the first story that I have put up on , so please be nice. Constructive criticism is welcome, but flames are not.

This is a crossover between _Charmed_ and _Dark_ _Angel_. There're my favorite TV shows and there aren't many crossovers with the two of them out there. I know it seems a little bit crazy but bear with me.

A little background:

For those of you who don't know much about _Dark_ _Angel_-It is set in about 2020. This would take place a year or two before that. It is a futuristic show, but instead of a high tech future it is a post-apocalyptic world. The premise is that in the 1990s the government started working on creating the ultimate human being. The most successful group of this experiment were the X5s. They have a small bit of animal DNA mixed in with the human that enhances their abilities, which include enhanced strength, speed, and reflexes as well as better vision, hearing, and lung capacity than regular humans. In '09, a couple of months before a group of terrorists set off an electromagnetic pulse that wiped out all the computers(and turned America into a third world country overnight), nine of them escaped. Jondy is one of those nine.

As far as _Charmed _goes, future Chris did save Wyatt from becoming evil, but that didn't stop Wyatt from being an annoying older brother. It also didn't help keep the world from becoming a hell-on-earth. The Halliwells can fight demons trying to destroy the world, but sometimes humans can be even worse than demons.

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Chris Halliwell was having one of those mornings. It was difficult enough being the brother of the all-powerful, all-knowing "twice-blessed" child's younger brother without his mother and aunts constantly reminding him that he wasn't as powerful as Wyatt, he wasn't as good a student as Wyatt, he wasn't perfect like Wyatt. The demon attacks that had occurred every morning for the past two weeks had put the whole family on edge, but no one more than Chris. It wasn't as if his parents didn't remind him enough that he wasn't as powerful as Wyatt without the extra motivation that the demon attacks gave them. At sixteen, Chris had an inferiority complex that was already a mile long. He knew his parents and his aunts meant well, but their concern for his safety only made him feel more inferior.

And then after all the drama and near-death experiences that was him home life, he had to deal with the one place on earth scarier than the underworld-high school. Chris felt that high school was a complete waste of time. How could knowing world history keep him from getting his heart ripped out by a wendigo? How would an A in geometry help him keep from getting his energy absorbed by a parasite demon? He thought it was all pointless. And although most teenagers at least enjoyed being around their friends in school, Chris didn't even have that to look forward to. He had a few friends, but none that he had told the family secret to. Chris being quite the neurotic was much too cautious to tell them the truth.

There was one bright spot in Chris' day. That bright spot was a girl. The girl Chris had been in love with from afar for the past four years. Her name was Jondy Hunt. She was about 5'5" with long golden blonde hair, flawless features, and the most incredible blue eyes Chris had ever seen. Jondy had a natural grace in the way she moved her perfect slender body that Chris couldn't tear his eyes away from, and a quiet intensity that enticed him. Unfortunately he wasn't alone. Half the school wanted to be with her, the incredible thing was that she didn't seem to notice or at least didn't care. Of course that attitude just made him and about 80 other guys want her more.

Chris sighed. Sometimes life just sucked.

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'Life sucks.' Jondy thought as she made her way to her math class. She had just fended off the attentions of yet another oversexed moron. 'That was the third guy today. It's not even lunch yet. I bet they wouldn't get so carried away if they knew what I am, and what I'm capable of. But instead I have to pretend to be a boring, normal, blonde bimbo. Why couldn't Lydecker have jus drowned me when he had the chance?'

Jondy reached her class and took a seat in the middle of class, and promptly plopped her head down and pretended to be taking a nap. Jondy allowed her thoughts to roam while her math teacher droned on and on...and on...and on... 'God will this class never end?' Out of the fog she heard her teacher call her name.

"Miss Hunt?"

"Yes, Ms. Bennett?"

"I'm so sorry if I'm boring you, but if you continue to sleep in my class and refuse to participate when I ask you a question I will have no choice but to dock your grade."

"But I wasn't sleeping, Ms. Bennett."

"Well, you certainly weren't listening now were you?"

Using multi-tasking skills that would have made her Manticorian handlers proud, Jondy recalled everything the teacher had said over the past few minutes.

"You were explaining functions and how they relate to the graph of the function, which is in this case a parabola."

Ms. Bennett's face fell, and Jondy chuckled to herself. But she shouldn't get too happy she reminded herself. It wasn't good to act too smart. It wasn't safe. It lead to getting chased down by lots of guys with guns. But what was done was done.

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A/N: Review!


	2. Friends and Food

Okay, um, I actually didn't plan to update this soon, but I checked when I woke up this morning and found your reviews. So, I decided to go ahead and update.

Disclaimer: I don't own them. I wish I owned Drew Fuller, but unfortunately he's not mine either.

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"You're gonna scare her off by doing that, ya know?"

Chris looked up and across the lunch table at his friend, Derek. He and Derek had been friends long enough that Derek probably thought he knew all there was to know about Chris, and he did. Everything except that everyone in Chris' family for the past three hundred years had been demon fighting, potion making witches.

After meeting Derek's gaze for a second, Chris returned his gaze to the spot across the lunchroom where Jondy and her friend, Heather, sat.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Chris replied blankly.

"You don't know what I'm talking about? Fine I'll tell you-If you're in love with her then why haven't you ever talked to her?" Derek asked with an expectant expression.

"We talk, we have talked."

"Oh really," Derek responded, "when?"

"One day in math class. She dropped her pencil and when I picked it up she said thank you, so I said you're welcome."

Derek almost spat out his drink he was laughing so hard. He then fixed Chris with a calculating look that made Chris, despite all his confrontations with demons who wanted nothing more than to see him dead, more nervous than he wanted to admit.

"Is that it?"

"Well...yeah it is."

Derek shook his head disbelievingly. "That's pathetic. You've worshiped the girl from afar for the past four years and you've never said more to her than that?"

"How do you know? The two of you could have had loads of stuff in common, but if you never talk to her then how are you ever gonna be able to tell? Look, if you don't talk to her in the end you'll just regret it. And I don't want you to be all mopey and in my face at graduation about how I just let you pine away and never did anything about it."

"I'm not gonna do that."

"Yeah," Derek said sarcastically, "because you don't usually blame me when something goes wrong or anything."

"I don't." Chris said seriously.

"Right, whatever you have to tell yourself, as long as you at least try to talk to her."

"Alright I'll talk to her," Chris replied, finally giving up.

For a second neither of them would say anything. Chris sat still, while Derek looked on expectantly.

Finally giving up on the silence Derek asked, "Aren't you going to go over there?"

"Not now!" Chris replied fervently.

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"You'll never guess what Brittany told Becca, who told Rachel, who told Emily, who told Bethany, who told Sam, who told-"

"Heather, what did all they tell you?" Jondy asked her friend.

Heather looked scandalized. "They didn't all tell me anything. I heard it from Wendy who heard it from-"

"Okay I get it. There are a lot of people involved, so whatever you're about to tell me must be true." Jondy said with a slightly sarcastic edge to her voice.

Heather frowned for a second before replying, "You're not being sarcastic are you?"

"Of course not I'm **dying** to know your news." This time the edge of sarcasm to Jondy's voice is unmistakable.

Heather is slightly put off by Jondy's complete lack of enthusiasm for her news. However, she seems to have more than enough enthusiasm for the both of them as she is no longer able to contain herself.

"Jake Jackson is going to ask you to go out with him this Friday night!" She screeched with excitement. "Aren't you excited?"

"Thrilled." Jondy deadpaned. She looked at Heather, who is obviously expecting more of a response than 'thrilled'. "Why should I be?"

Heather looked at Jondy like she had just sprouted an extra head. "Because he's the hottest guy in school!"

"So?" Jondy asked, still not seeing what the big deal was.

"What do you mean 'so'? Why aren't you more excited? Ya know, sometimes Jondy I just really don't get you."

"You're not the only one." Jondy muttered under her breath.

"What'd you say?"

"Nothing."

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A/N: Let me know what you think!!!!!!!


	3. English Class

Well, I was bored and had nothing else to do, so I decided to go ahead and put the next chapter of the story up.

Disclaimer: Does anyone really read these things? Contrary to popular belief I still don't own them.

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"Alright class, today we are going to be discussing 'Brave New World'. It is interesting for us to note that although it the subjects in it, such as genetic engineering, in it read like something that could have been written today, Aldous Huxley in fact wrote it in the early nineteen thirties. Now, today I'm going to pair you up into groups of two for an assignment. It will be your job to relate an issue from the "Brave New World" society to an issue that we face in ours..."

Jondy was sitting dead center of the class as per usual. She was doing her best to avoid several gazes being thrown in her direction. Several of them belonged to what Heather called her "fan club". Jondy didn't like a single one of them. They only liked her because they liked the way she looked. If she was going to have an actual relationship with anyone she wanted them to like her for more than her genetically flawless features.

But this was probably too much to expect from high school. For people like Jake Jackson, looks were the only important thing. He wasn't the only one with scewed priorities either, if the glares from practically all the females in the class were anything to go by. It looked like Jake Jackson had a fan club of his own.

Jondy wasn't fazed by the glares, though, they were nothing new. They weren't the reason she was currently itching to turn around. It was because of _his _stare. Constantly analytical, his stare was different than all the others. It was that stare that made him so dangerous. He was different than all the idiots they went to school with. She had known that the minute their gazes had locked in eighth grade assembly. That very day she had gone straight to the library and flipped through the glossy pages to discover that his name was Chris Halliwell. Somehow she just knew that Chris was a kindred spirit. He probably didn't even know that she knew he existed, but the truth was that she thought about him entirely more than was healthy. But now wasn't the time for that.

Usually Jondy never paid attention in class. She was designed to be brilliant, so passing was hardly something she had to work at. Between her photographic memory and her inhuman retention skills she could have easily aced each and every subject, instead she held herself back, and made sure to present herself as every inch of the slacker to help herself stay under the radar.

But this particular English assignment absolutely fascinated her. She had read "Brave New World" last week one night when she couldn't sleep. It was eerie how much Huxley's world reminded her of Manticore. Since the initial reading she had read it four more times, pouring over the book and searching for hidden meanings.

He was staring at her again. She resisted the nearly overwhelming urge to turn around; choosing instead to call his image up from her photographic memory for what must have been a millionth time.

'He's attractive for an ordinary.' She thought to herself.

But all this thinking, especially about Chr-Him, was a bad idea, a distraction, and a dangerous one at that. She was always on the run. She couldn't form an emotional attachment. They were dangerous. He was dangerous. It was just a damn shame that danger was so enticing.

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It was just another ordinary day for Chris. He sat in the back of the classroom observing Jondy, as usual. She sat in the dead center of the class, blissfully ignorant of his existence as usual. And he was attempting (unsuccessfully) to try to muster up the courage to talk to her.

'This is ridiculous. I can deal with the entire demonic underworld trying to kill my family without blinking an eye, but I can't even talk to one girl,' he berated himself. 'One day I will at least talk to her. Well, if boredom doesn't kill me first.' He quickly amended.

Chris hated English class. It was even more boring than any of his other classes, if that were possible. He felt that history and math were at least mildly useful, but who ever learned anything worth knowing in English class?

He was dimly aware of his teacher calling out names and snapped to attention when he heard his.

"Halliwell and Hunt..."

"Wait what?" Chris thought. It took him a second to realize that he had said it out loud.

'Oops.' He thought. 'Real smooth, Halliwell, real smooth.'

"Mr. Halliwell, I am so sorry to interrupt your daydreaming, but I believe your partner would prefer for you to come back to earth."

Chris immediately began to turn red as his classmates laughed at his expense. There was one of them though that wasn't laughing. Jondy's cerulean blue eyes meet his forest green ones and he saw a glimpse of an indefinable emotion in her eyes before it was quickly buried beneath her usual stoic expression.

"Get with your partner and decide on a place to work on the project. It will be due two weeks from today."

Jondy was actually starting to make her way over to him. She was actually starting to talk to him. The whole thing was so surreal that Chris was completely unable to concentrate on a single word she said.

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A/N: If you're reading this story and would like to leave a review then please click on the pretty blue button and let me know what you think.


	4. Jondy's Musings and Meeting Wyatt

Okay, like I said, I'm REALLY bored. So here's the next chapter even though I didn't plan to have it up so soon.

Disclaimer: If I owned them, would I really be doing this? Yeah, thought not.

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Jondy couldn't help but chuckle lightly to herself as she strolled down the street toward Chris' house. Chris had been so out of it when she had talked to him in English earlier. The look on his face had almost made it worth the butterflies in his stomach that his close proximity had caused. She doubted that he had heard a word she had said, of course that suited her purpose just fine. She had heard others around the room debating about where and when to get together, and luckily, thanks to Chris' zoned out state, they hadn't had that problem. She hadn't wanted to argue with him about whose house they would work on the project at. Chris coming over to hers simply had not been an option.

Her foster parents, the Altmans, kept a dozen kids, including her. But even though the Altmans were filthy rich didn't mean the children were well cared for, when fact, it was the opposite. They didn't want to spare any of their precious wealth for little things like making sure their foster children had enough food and clean clothes. Like many of the rich who had managed to hold onto their money after the pulse, the Altmans horded theirs. They only took in foster children for the tax break they received with each one.

Jondy was well aware that there was no love lost between her and her foster parents. If they knew what she was they would undoubtedly turn her in without a second thought. She had to be careful around them, but it was an easy enough thing for her to do. The Altmans avoided being around any of the fosters if there was any possible way around it as a general rule. Jondy had never had so much as a conversation with them beyond being told what chores to do, and they usually delegated that task to one of their many servants. They didn't want to associate with her, which suited her just fine. The less they talked to her or were around her the less likely it was that they would notice something odd about her. As it was they didn't even know her name; much less her rank and serial number. At the Altman's, she was just another 'orphaned mouth to feed'. She didn't mind, though, it suited her purposes just fine.

As much as Jondy enjoyed the not being noticed at the Altman's, she knew that if she were to take a classmate back there, they would definitely notice. A lot. It was absolutely unthinkable.

Jondy had kept her home situation a secret for the past four years. She had lived there since she was fourteen, and was now almost eighteen and old enough to live on her own. The Altmans weren't aware of this though, neither was the school. The orphanage that she had lived at not long after escaping from Manticore had guessed that she was about two years younger than she knew she was, when she had been unable to tell them her birth day.

She let them think that, knowing instinctively that it might help her throw off Lydecker if and when he came looking for her. Besides, answering too many questions was dangerous. She had managed to fall off the radar. The last thing she wanted to do was to rock the boat. Lying about her birthday was overkill, admittedly, but a genetically engineered killing machine was nothing if not thorough.

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Jondy walked up the many steps that lead to the vibrant, pink Victorian manor.

'So this is where he lives.' She supposed it was beautiful, in an old fashioned, girly kind of way.

Once she reached the top of the stairs, she rang the doorbell without preamble. And started counting

'Fifty-one, fifty-two, fifty-thr-'

At fifty-three the door was opened by a young man, who was about her own age. He had long; nearly shoulder length blonde hair, broad shoulders, and brown eyes. He was cute, but Jondy was hardly one to get distracted, despite the charming smile he was sending in her direction.

"Does Chris Halliwell live here?" She asked, cutting to the chase.

He raised one eyebrow suggestively before replying, "Are you sure he's the one you want?"

Jondy couldn't help but be somewhat amused. But she didn't have the patience to play along with his little game.

"Well, unless you want to help me with my English assignment then I'd have to say that I don't think you can help me."

"If only I liked doing schoolwork." He said with a sigh. "Oh, well, guess I'll have to get him for you. You wanna come in?"

"Sure." Jondy replied with a friendly smile.

"I'm Wyatt by the way." 'Wyatt' said while offering her a hand to shake.

"Jondy. Nice to meet you." She said while flashing him a friendly smile.

"Give me a sec and I'll get him."

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A/N: Please Review!!!


	5. Chris' Musings and Whoops!

Well, I'm done with my Spanish homework, so now I can work on this with a clear conscience.

Wow, three chapters in one day! You guys better enjoy it because this is not going to happen very often.

Disclaimer: If you are still reading these then you and are under the impression that I own any of them then allow me to clear it up for you-I don't own anything. Well, I do actually own Derek and Heather, but that's it.

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After looking for Chris in his room, Wyatt decided there was only one place where Chris could possibly be. He was in the attic, again. Wyatt went into the attic and immediately located his younger brother.

Chris was standing at the Book of Shadows telekinetically flipping the pages with a glazed look in his eyes.

"There's a girl here to see you, ya know?"

Chris paused in his flipping for half a second before resuming it with as little ceremony as before.

"I'm sure that by now you've made her forget all about me."

"Don't think so. This one seems pretty determined to talk to you. She said something about an English project."

At this Chris whipped his head up so fast that if Wyatt hadn't known better, he might have thought that Chris had developed some sort of superhuman head whipping ability.

"Jondy? Jondy Hunt is here?"

"How many Jondys do you know?"

Chris shrugged, "Just the one."

"Well, she's downstairs. Go on. She's waiting." Wyatt said with a mischievous grin.

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Chris made his way downstairs slowly. He was still having the trouble getting his head around the fact that she was at his house. Waiting. For him.

'Get a grip. It's just an English assignment.' He told himself.

The part of him that was apparently unable to contain its enthusiasm about this turn of events replied, 'Yeah but this is a perfect opportunity to talk to her, and maybe get to know her a little bit better.'

'I'm hopeless.' He thought. 'Oh, well, at least Derek will be happy.'

Chris was pulled out of his musing as Wyatt lept off the last couple of stairs to land right in front of Jondy with a flourish.

Both voices in Chris' head suddenly found something to agree on. 'Showoff.'

"Well I found him," Wyatt told Jondy. "I can't guarantee he'll behave, but if he gives you any trouble just let me know," he finished with a wink.

"Thanks. But I think I can handle him." She replied while fixing Chris with an amused look.

"No problem. I'll be in the kitchen if you change your mind." He sent Chris a 'you had better behave' glare before turning toward the kitchen.

Chris felt all the air leave his lungs as she looked at her. She was no more beautiful than she had been earlier at school. But to him she seemed to be, because at least a few hours she was all his.

Jondy apparently noticed that his attention was elsewhere, because at that moment she cleared her throat, bringing him back to the present.

Chris cleared his own in an effort to shake off his thoughts. "Right. So, um what are you doing here?" He asked bluntly. Chris didn't remember a thing she had said during English. 'She must have made plans to work with me at my house today. Whoops. I probably should have paid more attention.'

"What am I doing here? We agreed to get to work on project right away." She said with an eyebrow quirked questionably.

"So... you pretty much invited yourself to my house. Why couldn't we have done it at your house?" Chris knew that if he hadn't been so out of it he would have never just invited her over spur of the moment like that. Demonic attacks were part of the everyday routine around Halliwell manor. It was safer if they knew someone was coming over before hand, so if a demon attacked they had a plan to keep the innocent safe and out of the way while the Charmed Ones, Wyatt, or Chris handled the situation. It was for Jondy's own protection really. So then...why did she look so pissed off?

Chris had never seen Jondy with any expression on her face other than a blank one or the occasional mildly amused one. Her almost complete lack of variety was one of the things he was most curious about her, but as much as he had wanted to see her express some emotion, he had certainly not been prepared to see her mad.

And Jondy wasn't mad. She was enraged, ferocious, fierce, fiery, fuming, and furious, but not mad. He could see from the contortion of her face that he was in big trouble. He had crossed a line somewhere. Although Chris didn't really see what he had done to offend her so much.

When she finally spoke she sounded completely affronted, "Well it was a good thing I didn't tell you to come over because you obviously weren't paying much attention. We can make plans on when we can get together tomorrow. I'll just go." She stated with finality and started to head toward the door.

"No!" He said quickly, trying to placify her. While grabbing her arm and turning her around. "Hey I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be rude. You just caught me by surprise is all. I really want you to stay."

"Really? Are ya sure?" Jondy asked. And Chris detected a hint of vulnerability before it was hidden beneath her normally nonchalant attitude. "This is your last chance to get rid of me, ya know?"

Chris nodded and replied, "Yeah, well, the sooner we get started, the sooner we get done, right?"

As she smiled and nodded, Chris let out a sigh of relief. Living in a house full of females had finally paid off.

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A/N: Hey, I think this is the longest one yet! Review and let me know what you think!!! Come on, you know you want to.


	6. They're Both Snippy

Ugh, I think I'm becoming a laptop addict. That's the only explanation for why any sane person would update any story four times in one day. Then again I may not be entirely sane. Oh, well.

**AK8: ** Yeah, I guess he does, but first of all although this isn't in first person; it is through Jondy or Chris' perspectives. Secondly, I'd say that he's definitely flirtatious and maybe a little full of himself, but what we can tell from Chris is that Wyatt pretty much always gets what he wants. Unfortunately having things come so easy can make a person a little bit full of it.

Yes she does. But if I were you I wouldn't worry about Jondy. She's a survivor.

Anyways, I think after that last chapter I probably have some explaining to do. I actually already had the next chapter or so written out I just needed to type it. But, I didn't really like the way the last chapter just left you hanging as to why Wyatt is so full of himself or especially why Jondy blew up like that at Chris. I didn't originally have her get quite so mad at him, and there doesn't seem to be a real plausible reason. So after realizing that you guys probably would not see my reasoning behind it, I figured I had better give her a chance to explain herself. (Which I guess we will have to get to in the next chapter because I went a little crazy with the Jondy-Chris interaction.)

Disclaimer: I do not own them. If I did I would be sitting on a beach in the Caribbean somewhere enjoying a pina colada. On with the show...

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Jondy and Chris worked on their project for a good two hours without argument. Chris felt that it had gone pretty well considering the way it had begun. She had been extremely easy to talk to, and they had happily discovered the many similarities between them.

They both loved rock-the harder the better.

Both of them felt that school was pretty much a waste of time.

He was equally astonished to find that behind Jondy's homecoming queen good looks, she was every bit as much of a smart-ass as he was. Chris had always had trouble finding friends that could accept his snippy side, but Jondy accepted it. Right before she threw out insults of her own.

And Chris was surprised to find that Jondy had not only read "Brave New World", but practically had the damn thing memorized.

"So, I guess you're not a dumb blonde, huh?" He said after she had just quoted a whole paragraph from the book.

"You can guess? And here I thought all you could do was stare at the wall and daydream." She replied sassily.

Chris blushed, mostly because the daydreaming was usually about her.

"You okay?" She asked him. He looked up into her eyes and actually read concern there before she turned away uncomfortably.

Chris cleared his throat and turned back to the material. "So basically all these guys are after this same chick-"

"Lenina."

"Yeah." Chris said while shooting Jondy a look that said very clearly that he knew that without being told. "And they just want to sleep with her 'cause she's hot, but they're not interested in knowing anything about her."

"Right."

"So basically all they want is a piece of ass."

"Pretty much, yeah." Jondy shot back with a grin. A second later, though, that smile was gone from her face. "Doesn't that sound familiar."

"Well considering that we're supposed to be identifying with the characters then I'd have to say that's good." Chris suddenly took on a pompous attitude and adjusted imaginary glasses before pulling out an imaginary pen before posing it above an imaginary notepad. "And how does that make you feel?"

"Pissed off."

"And why is that do you think?" Chris inquired, keeping up his act.

"Well because the majority of the guys I know treat me like a piece of meat. And then the ones who don't go off and try to Dr. Freud me."

Chris was unfazed. "Um, hummm...I see...and how does that make you feel?"

"Like I have worn out my welcome and should probably get home." She returned cheekily.

Chris immediately dropped the act. "Oh, come on. I really don't want to drive you off."

Jondy shook her head and gave him a soft smile, "You're not. Really, you're not. But it's late, and I'm really getting hungry. I really should be going."

"You really don't have to go." Chris said hopeing he could again convince her to stay. "My mom used to be a chef. You could stay for dinner. She'd love to have one more."

"No, really. I should be going. I don't want you to accuse me of inviting myself to dinner." She said with a hint of mockery to her voice. "Besides I'll see you tomorrow."

"Okay," he responded still somewhat gloomy.

"Hey, cheer up, will ya?" She said with a smirk.

Chris put a big goofy grin on his face before relaxing it into a less forced one. "Alright then, I'll see you tomorrow. We can work on it some more then."

Jondy nodded and started to walk to the door before turning around. "Hey Chris?"

"Yeah?" He asked slightly surprised by the seriousness of her tone.

Jondy fidgeted with her shirt a bit before replying, "I just wanted you to know. I had fun tonight."

Chris grinned, "Me too." He said softly.

"Well, I'll see you tomorrow." Jondy said turning back around. "Bye Wyatt." She yelled to his brother in the kitchen.

"Bye." Wyatt replied.

Jondy then nodded to him once more before walking out the front door.

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A/N: I was actually going to get Jondy's take on the whole thing, but I guess we'll just all have to wait until the next chapter for that. If you review I'll put it up faster!!!


	7. The High Place

Hey, sorry that this took so long, but you guys would not believe the week I've had. This past two weeks I've had more car trouble than I would have thought possible. Last Sunday my roommate and I were in a wreck, and on Tuesday I had a flat tire. That wouldn't be a huge deal, but it turns out that nobody in town has the size of tire that I need. Plus I've had all these tests to study for and all this homework to get done.

Well, last time in the intro I said that I was going to have Jondy explain why she got so mad at Chris, and then I didn't because I got so caught up in the whole Jondy-Chris interaction. Well, this chapter will be from her point of view.

Just so you know, if this were _Dark Angel_ and Jondy were Max then she would be up on the space needle for this scene. But given the shortage of space needles in San Francisco, a rooftop is just going to have to do.

**Karone Evertree: ** Well, Chris thinks he's unbelievably annoying, but no, he's not evil.

Disclaimer: I STILL don't own them, but I am the proud owner of a migraine thanks to constantly having to do these things.

Chapter 7:

The High Place

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Jondy lied. It was really getting to be a bad habit of hers.

She hadn't been lying when she had said she was hungry. Her revved up metabolism made hunger a part of life. Add in the fact that she got so little food at "home", and hunger was understandably something Jondy had grown completely accustomed to.

But she had lied when she said she was going "home". Whatever that meant. The Altman's house was the very last place she wanted to be. Well, with the understandable exception of Manticore.

Jondy usually avoided going back to the Altman's as long as she possibly could. Instead she chose to have some time alone. Preferably in a place where she didn't have to hide who she was, somewhere where she could take some time to process things.

After spending most of the afternoon at Chris' house, Jondy needed to do some serious processing. So, she headed to her usual spot.

Her thinking spot was the top of an old building. The company who had owned it had gone out of business, undoubtedly in the chaos following the pulse. From her building, Jondy had an excellent view of the golden gate bridge. She didn't know whether it was due to her feline DNA or the memories that high places held, but they had always had a relaxing effect on her.

Jondy crept through the alley before noiselessly opening the building's side door. She had broken the lock on this particular door long before to avoid the hassle of having to pick it every time she came. She hurriedly climbed the stairs, and went through yet another door to reach the building's roof. She calmly stood by the edge and peered down towards the street below.

Being up high like she was here always made her remember Manticore. Faces flashed through her mind's eye at lightning speed. Tinga, Brin, Zack, Zane, Krit, Syl, Ben...Max. She saw them all with astounding clarity. She loved every single one of them, even though she hadn't seen them in nearly a decade. They were her unit, her friends, but most of all they were her family. They had known her so well that they knew exactly how she felt without a word, (which was good because Manticore wasn't really big on verbal expression). No one here could understand her no matter what she said.

Of course that thought brought her around to the reason she had come here tonight. Chris had wrecked enough havoc on her mind before she had even known him. And now that she had actually talked to him, it was hard to stop thinking about him. He was just so different than the boys at school. He was different than any man she had ever met. They all saw her as a hot body and a pretty face. He knew that there was more to her than that. Not to mention that he was the first guy that she had ever been attracted to. Excluding, of course, the two to three times a year when she had her heat cycles.

'Stop thinking like that, Jondy! Attraction is bad, very, very bad.' Jondy berated herself. She simply couldn't afford to get too close to anyone. She had managed to slip off the radar, but she knew they were still looking for her. Lydecker simply wasn't the type to just drop something, no matter how unlikely that he would succeed.

Sometimes, though, she almost forgot who she was and where she had come from. She had lived on the outside for so long that it was almost like she was just like anyone else. It was the part that she had to play if she wanted to survive to survive, and she was good at it, almost too good.

There was a constant war inside her between the part of her that was the perfect Manticore soldier and the part that was (mostly at least) human. Her heart wanted to embrace life, to be able to love and be loved. But the part of her that was still 210 wouldn't allow it. There was an animal inside of her, one that Jondy couldn't always suppress. The part of her that was human, hadn't wanted to be yell at Chris like that, but when he mentioned her house, she panicked. She had felt like she was backed into a corner. The animalistic part of her had seen it as a fight or flight situation, and reacted accordingly.

Jondy was just glad she hadn't kicked his ass, physically at least. It might have been kind of hard to explain if she had "accidentally" snapped his neck or something.

But as much easier as life were be if she weren't a transgenic, if she had had a choice she wouldn't have changed things. It was an integral part of her. 'Besides,' she thought with a grin, 'what's normal anyways.'

Even though the escape had let her experience things that she would have never thought possible, it had come at a high price. Her brothers and sisters had been the best thing she'd ever had in her life before the escape. Now it had been ten years and she hadn't seen any of them since. During the first few months, she had expected to see them at any moment. She thought that she might turn the corner and run into Max, or go down the orphanage stairs to come face to face with Zack.

It was so different here than it had been in Manticore. Having all the appearance of freedom meant nothing to Jondy if she always had to be in hiding. Hiding who she was, what she was, there were days that Jondy found herself wishing she could be in back in Manticore.

But then, she came to her senses. No matter how bad it was here, it was nothing compared to how bad it was back there.

Not to mention that the one good thing that Manticore had had going for it, had escaped along with her. Somehow, deep down, she knew that she would see her brothers and sisters again. It was only a matter of time.

Jondy took one last look at the people walking down the street below the building, and turned around with a sign. It was, once again, time for her to join them.

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A/N: Please click on the pretty blue button! I'll type faster if you do.


	8. Ordinary Day

AN: Sorry it's been so long since I've updated. I wish I could say that I have a really good excuse, but....well I really don't.

I would like to thank my reviewers.

**Karone Evertree: **Naw, we weren't hurt, but we were a little car less for awhile. Thanks for askin' though.

Disclaimer: I don't own Jondy, Chris, The Charmed Ones, Leo...you get the idea. I **do** own Derek and Heather, but that's about it.

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The next day at school was as ordinary as the people in it; aside from the fact that Jondy had been spending practically the entire day staring at Chris. Her friend, Heather, wasn't exactly the smartest person in the class, but even she knew that something was up.

"Jondy if you have no interest in the whole Jake Jackson thing do you mind if I try to snag 'im? I mean if you do just say so, I mean he _is_ the hottest guy in school, but if you're not interested..."

Jondy skillfully tuned out Heather as she went back to the task that had occupied her for the majority of the day. She was staring at Chris.

'I am _not _staring.' She corrected herself mentally. 'It's more like _observing_, and observing hardly counts as staring.'

It was now lunchtime and this whole thing had gone on long enough. She really should do something about all this, but she had no clue what to do.

'Instead of teaching us all that shit about 'what the mind can conceive the body can achieve' they should have taught us how to deal with ordinary people.' She thought with frustration before whining mentally, 'I wasn't trained for this.'

Jondy was so deeply entrenched in her own thoughts that it took her sometime to realize that someone was shaking her. Repeatedly. And rather hard at that.

"What?" She finally snapped at Heather. Honestly she wasn't even sure who she was angry at- Heather for shaking her or at herself for being caught off guard like that.

'Wouldn't Deck be so upset if he could see me now?" She thought as she smirked at the thought.

She looked up at Heather to find her friend staring back at her with a knowing expression. The look Heather was wearing was one Jondy had never seen her wear before, but something about it worried her inexplicably.

"What?" She asked again, but without the edge of anger to her voice.

Instead of answering, Heather raised her eyes and followed the path toward the object that Jondy had been so fixated with all day. Chris sat with his Derek in their usual seat halfway across the lunchroom.

"Well," Heather responded, "I was going to give you one last chance with Jake before I sweep down and take him away from you, but it seems you've you your eyes on another prize."

When Jondy started to protest, Heather held up her hand, effectively silencing her.

"Oh, c'mon, J, I'm not stupid. I've seen you staring at him all day long."

Jondy paused to look at her friend, and it seemed as if it was the first time she'd ever seen her. Heather was a very skinny, very chesty brunette. (She had been a bleached blonde, but had eventually decided that she looked better with her natural hair color.) Her eyes were a bright sea that was obviously not natural. But she was right. She wasn't stupid, at least not as stupid as Jondy had thought she was. Then again she hadn't picked up on anything odd about Jondy. At least not as far as Jondy knew.

After making a mental note to be more careful around Heather, Jondy turned back to her friend with an expression of supreme innocence on her features. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Oh, c'mon, I'm talking about Chris Halliwell. Ya know he's sorta cute. You two would make a cute couple." Heather said as her eyes lit up. Jondy could practically see the light bulb go on inside her head.

After seeing the all too excited expression on Heather's face, Jondy thought that she had better put a stop to any and all further ideas before things got out of hand. "Whoa, slow down tiger." She said. "Who said anything about me and Chris being a couple? We're not like that, okay?" She finished a little slowly.

The idea was that maybe if she said it slowly and enunciated clearly that Heather would get the idea. Jondy looked up at Heather who still had that unearthly sparkle to her eyes, and couldn't help but think, 'I'm in trouble now'.

She had been around _a lot_ of ordinaries since the escape. Some that thought they were _so_ tough, they just made her laugh at their little delusions of grandeur. Some of them were even purposely cruel like her foster family. 'Yeah right, like not having designer duds is gonna tear me up. Puleaze.' She thought cheekily.

But Heather, standing there with her perfectly styled hair, her too-tight shirt, and most especially glowing contact-colored eyes was starting to scare her.

Jondy held back a gulp. She would not let some teenaged swimsuit model wanna be make her spaz out. She would keep her cool.

'Yeah you just keep on thinking that.' Her sarcastic side quipped.

'Hey, I've got enough on my plate right now. I don't need any of this from you.'

'Well, sorry.' The voice put in sarcastically before falling silent again.

"Look, Heather I don't know what you're thinking but I really wish you wouldn't." Jondy said quickly after the silence and the eyes became too unbearable.

Heather shrugged noncommittally before speaking. "I was just thinking that you're both broody and quiet and that the two of you could brood together." She said while making hand gestures to accent her point.

Jondy glared at her and sighed before responding. "I told you we're not like that."

Heather took in her words with a nod before getting excited once more. "You mean you two have talked? As in had actual conversations, found out what you have in common-talked?"

Biting back a sharp remark, Jondy simply nodded and said, "He's in my English class."

Heather nodded in a way that was obviously meant to encourage her to continue. "We're partners on an English project."

After Jondy had shared that particular bit of information, Heather's attention was secure. She gave Jondy a look that clearly said 'go on'. But Jondy had had enough.

"Look, can we change the subject, please?" She all but begged.

"C'mon, you know you want to talk about it." Heather replied.

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"Do you want to talk about it?" Derek asked Chris.

Chris looked up at his friend with a smile threatening to steal across his face. "You've wanted to ask all day, haven't you?"

Derek smirked and then shrugged. "You can't blame me you've been quiet all day."

Chris didn't acknowledge him for a full minute before responding, "I'm always quiet."

"Yeah," Derek agreed, "but not this quiet."

"True," Chris assented before falling silent.

"What's up with you, man? You've barely even looked at anyone today, and that's including your lady love."

Chris looked at Derek for a few seconds, trying to read in his mind what he could already hear in his voice. Derek was worried about him. He should join the club. What with his aunts, his parents, and now his best (and pretty much only) friend, they'd have a pretty good sized group.

Derek noticed the haze in his friend's eyes and tried to snap him out of it. "Chris," he said loudly right next to Chris' ear. Of course this and Chris' jump caused several heads to turn in their direction, but to Derek it was a small price to pay.

"Are you on drugs or somethin'?" He demanded angrily. Derek wasn't the type of friend to just sit back and watch while his friend destroyed his life.

"No," Chris reassured him with a happy smile. "I've just been thinking."

"'Bout what?" Derek asked before changing his mind and rephrasing the question. "Or should I say about who?"

Chris let out one big, long sigh before answering, "Jondy."

"Okay," Derek said slowly, "well in that case, you do realize that she's been starin' at you all day, right?"

A wide smile suddenly spread across Chris' face. "Really? Ya think?" He asked energetically.

Derek nodded solemnly, "It has been kinda obvious." Derek looked up to see Jondy's friend Heather dragging the object of their discussion their way. Derek raised his eyebrow toward Chris before glancing in their direction. Chris looked up in surprise at her.

He recovered enough to manage to croak out, "Hi Jondy."

"Hey," she responded with a miniscule smile.

Heather broke in on the moment, "Well, we'll just leave you two alone. I'm sure you have lots to talk about." She said while grabbing Derek's arm. As they walked off Chris could hear her asking Derek if he worked out. His head snapped back to Jondy as he heard her soft chuckle.

"So...do you want to work on the project some more after school today?" He asked.

She smirked before responding, "Same time, same place?"

"Who are you now, Batman?" He asked with a hint of mirth in his voice.

Jondy flashed him a beautiful grin. "I look good in little animal ears." She stated so matter-of-factly that he had to laugh.

"But not good in a cape?" He asked.

"You try fighting crime in a cape," She responded with a smirk.

The bell rang signaling the end of lunch.

Jondy got up quickly while giving him one more smile. "See ya later."

"Yeah, later," Chris said as he shot her an answering grin before heading to class with a spring in his step.

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AN: Please review!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


	9. Squirming

  
  
A/N: Hey, I know it's kinda short, but hopefully I'll have the next one up soon.

Disclaimer: I still don't own anything.

Chapter 9  
Squirming

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Five o'clock that afternoon found Jondy perched precariously on the arm of Chris' living room couch, while they went over some of their observations that would go in their report.

Chris had to admit that he was having a surprisingly good time, especially for working on a school assignment. They sat and worked in amicable silence, while he mused over the girl who sat beside him. Well, above really because of the height that her perch gave her. This was kind of like the way he'd always seen her, as being too high up for him to reach. But now he saw that she was just like anybody else, well like him at any rate.

He was pulled out of his Jondy-related-thoughts by his mother's voice.

"Chris, are you home?"

"Yeah mom, I'm in here."

Piper followed Chris' voice into the den. Upon seeing them she said, "Oh, there you are. I didn't know we had company." She said as her eyes fixed on Jondy.

"Mom, this is Jondy Hunt. We're working on a project together for English class." Chris said quickly. He had caught the little gleam in his mother's eyes. He didn't have to be telepathic to know that something along the lines of 'My little boy has got a girl over at the house. He's all grown up.' was running though her mind.

But if he had been telepathic then maybe he would have seen what was coming next.

"Jondy would you like to stay for dinner? I'm making pasta."

"I'd love to, Ms. Halliwell."

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Jondy glanced at Chris out of the corner of her eye. She couldn't help it, what with the way he had been squirming since his mother had asked her to dinner. Watching him wiggle would have been enough of a reason to stay, but the prospect of a decent meal made it downright irresistible. The Altmans didn't exactly starve her, but Jondy couldn't even remember the last time she'd had a home cooked meal. 'And my memory being what it is, that's saying something.' She added mentally.

Besides, this was the perfect opportunity to see if she could unravel the enigma that was Chris Halliwell.

'I always did like recon,' she thought to herself with a small smirk.

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'I should definitely be more careful what I wish for,' Chris thought.

He had wanted to get her attention so much for the past few years, but he had never paused to consider what would happen when it actually happened. He had certainly not been prepared for this.

Chris loved his family, but certain members of that family had now been put in a situation that would make it all too easy to humiliate him in front of Jondy.

His aunt Paige was practically the queen of making her family members wish that the ground would swallow them up.

And then, there was his charming, handsome, oh-so-perfect brother Wyatt. His brother never seemed to have any shortage of girls falling all over him. Chris would have been willing to bet good money that Wyatt would ruin this for him.

But the one that Chris was the most nervous about was his mom. There was no shortage of embarrassing things his mother could tell Jondy that she would probably just see as "cute". Chris thought his mother was awesome, but out of all of them, she was in the best position to damage his chances with Jondy.

'Chances? Ha! You are getting _way_ ahead of yourself, my man.'

The fact of the matter was that it would be a miracle if he somehow managed to get through the meal without his aunt making an embarrassing sexual innuendo, his brother stealing his girl, or his mother telling Jondy some childhood story that, in his opinion, should have been forgotten years ago.

He was just grateful that his ever perceptive aunt Pheobe, being the workaholic that she was, hadn't come-

"Hey guys, I'm home."

Home for dinner.

Chris let his head fall to his hands with a groan. It was gonna be a long night.

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A/N: Please review!!!! It might modivate me to get off my butt and finish the next chapter.


	10. I'm alright

A/N: Hey, I'm sorry it took me so long to get this chapter up. My computer just erased it for some strange reason, and it has just now recovered it. This chapter's actually not that good, but it will be important later so...yeah.

Disclaimer: Much to my dismay, they are STILL not mine.

I know it's short, but I have had an unfortunate lack of inspiration. Hopefully now that this chapter has been recovered, I can get back to writing.

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Phoebe had made her way all the way from the foyer into the dining room and sat down before she noticed the Halliwell's dinner guest.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know that we had company." She said while measuring the girl up. She was about Chris' age and classically beautiful with porcelain skin, cerulean eyes, and long blond hair. But there was something about her eyes that gave Phoebe the sense that this girl had seen far more in her life than her age would suggest.

"This is Jondy Hunt. She's working with Chris on an English project." Piper told her with a small smile.

Phoebe's eyes immediately sought her nephew, who looked like he could not have possibly been more miserable. Phoebe subtly tried to pick up on his emotions, but what she found made her pause. She had never known Chris to have such a crush on anyone. Wyatt always seemed to have a girl wherever he went. Chris, on the other hand, had never been one to have his head turned by just a pretty face.

'If Chris likes her so much,' Phoebe contemplated, 'then she must be something special.'

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After Phoebe's abrupt arrival, they had all began eating. Piper's culinary skills being what they were, everyone at the table ate in silence for a few minutes, and simply savored their food. The silence was suddenly broken by Piper, who felt that they needed to know more about their dinner guest.

"So, Jondy, what do your parents do?"

Jondy paused for a moment, seemingly at a loss for words before replying, "I don't have any parents."

Paige frowned for a moment at the unexpected answer before putting her two cents in, "You have to have parents. Who takes care of you?"

Piper glared at Paige for her outburst before turning to Jondy and saying gently, "Did they die? We know how that feels, Phoebe and I lost our mother when we were very young. Sometimes it helps to talk about things like this."

"They didn't die; I just never knew them." Jondy replied with a bitter smile.

Ever the sympathetic one, Phoebe felt that she had to say something. "Oh, you poor thing! That must be terrible!"

"I'm okay." Jondy said, a little shocked by how concerned they seemed to be. "Really. It's alright. I can take care of myself."

Paige still looked shocked. "But you're what, sixteen? You can't live by yourself!"

Jondy smiled soothingly. "Well, I don't. I live with a foster family."

"Foster family?" Paige repeated cautiously. "Well, I guess that's alright then. What're their names? Do we know them?"

"Um, I don't think so," Jondy replied. "Do you know the Altermans?"

"I don't think so," Piper quickly responded while shooting Paige a look that clearly said "that's enough".

Phoebe ignored the antics of her sister and asked, "But surely you must _miss_ having parents. Our dad was never around for us, and after our mom died all we had was Grams. Grams was great at raising us, but I always felt a void. I always missed having a mother and a father, and even Grams couldn't feel that void, at least not for me." Phoebe finished silently, almost inaudibly.

"Really I don't miss them. I turned out alright with my strange little life. I don't need anyone else."

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Please REVIEW!!!


	11. Going Home

A/N: Okay, I did pretty good on getting this one up, right? It's still kind of on the short side, but I got through with it in a pretty short amount of time. And as soon as lets me, I'll post it.

This chapter is dedicated to my faithful reviewer **_Karone Evertree_**. Enjoy!!!

Disclaimer: I **still** don't own either **_Dark Angel _**or **_Charmed, _**although I wouldn't mind owning Drew Fuller or Jensen Ackles. I'm not picky, either one works for me. But unfortunately I don't own them either.

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With the exception of the noise made by their silverware, the occupants of the Halliwell dinning room spent the rest of the meal in silent contemplation. The adults in the room were particularly upset by Jondy's revelation.

The good-natured Halliwells had, within the space of a few hours, decided that Jondy was an innocent that needed their help. Paige especially, having grown up without knowing who her biological parents were, felt that she empathized with the teen.

The adult Halliwells in fact, had feelings that went deep enough that they would have angered the young "orphan" had she known of them. But Jondy could tell enough of what they were thinking by the look on their faces. Good Samaritans were rare in post pulse America, but she had run into enough of them in her time since the escape to recognize the signs.

They had that all-too-familiar glazed look in their eyes (somewhat similar to the look that her school admirers got at times), the contemplative expression on their face, and (worst of all) the small goofy smile. It all added up to an expression that voiced all too well that they were just pondering what great ways that they could affect her life.

Jondy just sighed. She appreciated the concern. Really she did. But the truth was that she didn't need and couldn't afford to have someone meddling in her already all too strange life. Jondy thought it was high past time to make an exit before the Halliwells had had time to plan her college education, wedding, as well as the names of her 2.5 kids and cocker spaniel. People who wanted to help her was all well and good, but it complicated her life in ways that they could not begin to imagine.

"Well, I think it's about time for me to head home," she said without ceremony.

The Halliwells all objected, but Jondy shook off their objections by telling them, "Look I appreciate it, but I really need to be getting home."

As much as the Halliwells hated to see her go, with the exception of Chris who was still thanking every deity he had ever heard of that nothing too terribly disastrous had happened, they accepted her excuse as a valid one, and Jondy was allowed to continue on her way.

Jondy walked quickly down the still crowded streets. She kept her head down as she walked, it was better to just avoid the attention in the first place than to have to deal with some hormonal bastard looking to get some.

She was already late enough that she didn't think she'd have time for even a quick stop by her rooftop. She had been away long enough. It was time for her to go home.

When Jondy finally reached the house it didn't take her a fraction of a second to realize that there was an unknown car parked in the driveway. Jondy's body tensed for a second before she forced it back into relaxation. She stalked up to the door like a predator, all the while carefully keeping a look out for anyone that might be watching.

Jondy quickly scanned her surroundings as she walked through the door, shutting the door behind her without a sound. She soundlessly began to creep down the halls in the direction of the wing that was only used to house "the fosters".

But her stealthy approach was quickly halted as she heard a small voice behind her.

"Johndie."

Jondy's head whipped around in surprise. "Zoë? What are you doing down here?" The harshness in her tone immediately left it as she surveyed the small creature before her. "You know that they don't like us to be down here."

"Bwut Johndie, I mwisshed yow." At these words, Jondy gave the three year old child a disapproving look.

"So you decided not to follow the rules and stay upstairs. You know that they don't like us to be anywhere around, especially if they have guests."

The little girl just gave her a blank look, so she just sent her a bright smile before taking her hand and saying, "Come on. We should go upstairs before someone sees us."

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A/N: Another short one, but hopefully it won't be long before I put the next one up.


	12. Shaking

A/N: Hey, I've incorporated more _Dark Angel_ into it this time, but hopefully it won't be too hard for those of you who don't know anything about _DA_ to follow. This flashback scene is a description of part of the escape from the pilot. Max, Zack, and Eva are other transgenics, and like siblings to Jondy. So, they'll probably be showing up again later. Oh, and Jondy's does _not_ have a drug problem or anything. All the X5s were made with a slight flaw in their brain chemistry that requires them to keep the homeopathic drug,Tryptophan, onhand at all times.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything except my computer-which is acting up, so I doubt you'd want that either.

**phoeeebs: ** Thanks!!!

**Karone Evertree:** I didn't realize it did that, but ya know, it really doesn't suprise me.

_Jondy watched in horror as Max crumbled out of line and onto the hard cement floor. Her sister convulsed violently as she pulled herself into a fetal position, the better to wait out the shakes. Jondy threw herself onto the ground and began to sooth her sister._

_Her brothers and sisters moved as one to cluster around where Max lay violently shaking on the floor. _

_They all looked up in surprise as the heavy metal door to the barracks was thrown open. The guards entered. One of them immediately making his way toward the seizing transgenic._

_But suddenly, he was attacked by Zack, who kicked the doctor to the ground before following through with a solid punch to the face. After seeing this, the guards began to close in on them, but Eva stopped him with a quick, disabling kick to his leg, before she grabbed his gun. Then, holding it high overhead, she fired. The guards turned and ran. Jondy held onto a still trembling Max as her unit followed Eva down the hallway._

_All Jondy could see in the distance was a bright light, which was soon overshadowed by several figures._

_Eva brought the gun in front of her in a two handed grip, just as they had been taught, and quickly prepared to fire._

_A gun shot rang out against the cold, dark walls in foreboding echoes._

_Eva fell to the floor. Her gun slid from her dead hand toward where Max and Jondy sat crouched on the floor._

_As one the unit looked up at the shadow figure as it moved in front of the light to reveal Lydecker, with a gun held casually in his hand—_

"Jondy?"

Jondy was suddenly pulled back to the present by a voice that she identified a second later as Chris'. She was disoriented for only a moment before she realized where she was-she was in the Halliwell's living room, stretched out on their couch, she had been lounging there quite a lot the past couple of days.

Jondy looked up to see Chris sitting in front of her with a concerned expression on his face.

"Are you okay?" he asked in a tone of voice that was completely serious. All too serious in her opinion. Surely she hadn't been _that _out of it.

"I'm fine," she responded purely to ease his worries. Not to mention get that damned look off his face. "I just zoned out a little."

Unfortunately the look was not going to be gotten rid of so easily. If anything it increased in intensity.

Chris had noticed the fine tremors running through Jondy's body and it only made him more concerned.

"You're shaking. Are you cold? Do you want me to get you a blanket or anything?"

"No, I'm fine. I don't need anything." Jondy sighed wearily. "I'm fine," she repeated again in light of Chris' rather disbelieving look. "I think my blood sugar may be low, that's all." She quickly fibbed to cover her stealthily increasing shaking.

She _had_ to go and soon, before Chris or his family noticed something was off with her. And then of course she had to get home to her hidden stash of Tryptophan before she did anything to attract too much attention. Her foster parents were pretty good at pretending she didn't exist, but there were just some things one couldn't ignore-and someone crumbling to the floor in a shaking heap was one of them.

"Ya know what? I should really be going," she told him quickly, ignoring the disappointment she felt, that she could see mirrored all-too-clearly in his own eyes.

Chris tried to get her to stay, "My mom's cooking again. She'd love to have the extra company. Besides she likes you. She doesn't think that we appreciate her cooking enough, but she knows that you do."

"I don't want to intrude," Jondy told him. In the meantime she automatically scanned the room, taking note of all the exits and how far she was from them. As soon as she realized what she was doing she stopped and scolded herself. 'Although I guess should really be scolding Lydecker. After all, my constant paranoia is entirely his fault. Damn Lydecker.'

"I really wish you wouldn't go. Are you sure you have to?" Chris said with an air of vulnerability to him that contrasted with his usually mature attitude.

Jondy sighed again; it seemed she had done a lot of that over the past few days. "I really do have to go. I'm exhausted. Besides we haven't really gotten anything done over the past hour or so, so I might as well get goin'."

"I guess," Chris said reluctantly. "So I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Of course," Jondy replied nonchalantly before heading out of the door and down the streets at a good clip.

She left too quickly to see the contented smile slip over Chris' face.

As she had walked towards her foster home, the shakes had grown progressively worse, until they had gotten to the point that she knew that she had to avoid seeing anyone until she had managed to at least take the edge off with some Trytophan.

She raced up the many flights of stairs and into her room as quickly as she could, which presently was not terribly fast, and after making sure that the room was empty, immediately made her way over to the loose board she had found under her bed that she used solely for the purpose of hiding her necessary medicine.

Jondy struggled with the childproof cap as she willed her hands to stop trembling. After finally getting the cap off, she took a handful of pills and dry-swallowed them after doing that, she hide the bottle once more, and fell into her hard bed to rest. 'Yes,' she thought with a yawn. 'Rest sounds good.'

She then quickly dropped off into a light sleep that lasted until she was roughly awoken...

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A/N: I'm trying to get at least one chapter out a week, so hopefully I'll have this one done by next Wednesday. Plus the Thanksgiving holidays are coming up (!!!!) so I'll have a little more time to work on it.


	13. Sisters

A/N: Well, I didn't want to wait 'til Tuesday to update, and I had some free time so...here it is.

Thanks go to:

**Emma718 **&** Karone Evertree **for reviewing

Disclaimer: I still don't own anything connected to **Dark Angel** or **Charmed**. 

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Last time on Pitchblack Past:

_Jondy struggled with the childproof cap as she willed her hands to stop trembling. After finally getting the cap off, she took a handful of pills and dry-swallowed them after doing that, she hide the bottle once more, and fell into her hard bed to rest. 'Yes,' she thought with a yawn. 'Rest sounds good.'_

_She then quickly dropped off into a light sleep that lasted until she was roughly awoken..._

"Johndie!!!" an enthusiastic voice screeched.

Jondy's eyes quickly snapped open when she realized who it was. "Hey, squirt."

Zoë's enthusiasm quickly faded as she looked Jondy over with a questioning expression on her young face. "Are you sick, Johndie?" She asked, quickly picking up on how Jondy unconsciously trembled ever so slightly.

Chuckling at the concerned expression on the little girl's face, that made her look closer to thirty instead of three. "I'll be fine, squirt."

"You're so silly, Johndie. I'm not a squirt. I'm Zoë."

Jondy smiled at the three year old's logic before pulling her into a comforting hug. The action was a bit surprising since she had never been much of a touchy feely person, but she thought that maybe being around the Halliwell so much had caused some of their warm fuzziness to rub off on her.

Of course Jondy had always had a soft spot for Zoë. She didn't know whether it was the child's vulnerable nature, her own natural maternal instincts, or that Zoë reminded her of the innocence that she had never been able to have, but the kid had always managed to stir up her protective side.

But whatever the reason was, the child was the only person that she had felt was her family since the escape.

"Zoë," Jondy's attitude suddenly became one of seriousness as she surveyed the child, "you know I'll take care of you, right?"

Zoë smiled and nodded before resting her head on Jondy's shoulder and replying, "I know Johndie."

Quickly switching gears Jondy innocently asked, "So what'd you do today, squirt?" Zoë glared at her for the all-too-innocent question.

Zoë looked thoughtful for a second before replying. "Johndie, what's a parent?"

Jondy looked at the little girl in surprise, "A parent is someone who feeds you, clothes you, and takes care of you. Why do you ask?"

"Miss Wendy asked us to ask our parents what they did and then take them to school with us on Twursday." Zoë said slowly. "Do I have a parent, Johndie? Are the Altmans my parents?"

A grim expression settled over Jondy's pretty features at the question. It was just a crying shame that the little girl even had to ask such a question.

"No, Zoë, they're not your parents."

Zoë's thoughtful expression only intensified. "Are you my parent, Johndie?"

Jondy signed sadly, "No Zoë I'm not. But that doesn't mean we're not family, that you're not my little sister."

"I'm your sister?" Zoë asked with a happy grin. "Johndie does that mean that you'll come and talk to my class on Twursday?"

Jondy considered the question for a moment before giving her response, "Tell you what, squirt, I'll take care of it."

"How, Johndie?"

Jondy smiled at the child's adorableness. "I'll talk to your teacher tomorrow and explain things. Okay, Zoë?"

"Alright, Johndie." The three year old replied as she looked up at Jondy adoringly.

"It'll be alright, squirt. I promise."

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A/N: Not much goin' on in this one, just a little fuzziness. Hopefully I'll have the next one up in the next coupla days.


	14. Frustration

A/N: All I can say is whoa! I mean this one is big. Um this chapter originally probably would've just consisted of the first scene with Chris and Derek talking, but since has been out of commission (except for _read only_ mode) for the past 48 hours, I've had plenty of time to work on it.

**Karone Evertree:** Everything in good time. I know you said you liked the glimpse into Jondy's past, so I included another short one in this monster of a chapter. Hey, I made the chapter a lot longer. Don't ya love me?

**mel11:** Mine too! Well, I guess that's kind obvious, but anyways…I know what you mean. Since they're like my two favorite shows ever I hoped there would be a buncha crossovers, but there weren't so I decided to make my own. I'm glad you like it.

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"So...how've things been going with you and your girl?"

Derek's innocent question immediately got Chris' attention. "Fine. What do you mean?"

Giving his friend an incredulous look, Derek commented, "Well, it's just I expected you to act differently once you and Jondy started talking, maybe less mopey…" he added as an afterthought. "So I'll ask again, how've things been going with you and your girl?"

Chris growled in frustration before replying, "I just don't get her!" He took in Derek's raised eyebrow before continuing, "Sometimes I think I'm getting through to her, but then she goes and just shuts herself off from me. I just don't get her!" He restated.

Derek raised his eyebrows at this and replied, "And so now you're feelin' frustrated?"

"I just…well…I care about her and…I just feel like she's keeping me at arm's length the whole time we're together."

Derek observed his friend's distress with interest. He wasn't a cruel person. He didn't like seeing people in pain, especially someone who was his friend.

But he couldn't help but think it was somewhat humorous that someone who always seemed like nothing could touch him was two steps from tearing his hair out over a girl. One of the Chris' best traits was his ability to roll with the punches. But ever since the whole English thing with Jondy had begun it was as if Chris had lost his ability to think on his feet. He had always been that way to an extent around Jondy, but their recent closeness had brought it to a whole new level.

Overall, amusing as it was to see Chris so wound up, he wanted the I-can-take-anything-anybody-throws-at-me Chris back.

"Dude," he said with a smirk, "do you need me to help you get the girl?"

Chris just groaned.

"What was that?" he asked with false happiness. "'I'd really appreciate your help, Derek.' Or how about 'Thanks, dude, you rock?' that's what you really meant to say, isn't it?"

"What makes you think you can help me, Derek?" Chris remarked wearily.

"Are you kidding?" Derek asked with a lazy smile, "The ladies love me."

Chris smiled slightly, "Are you trying to cheer me up, Derek?"

His friend gave him a charming smile followed by a questioning look. "What do you mean by that? Do you doubt my Casanovaness?" he countered with a twitch to his eyebrow.

Chris' smile broke out into all out grin at that statement. Seeing the you'd-better-watch-it look Derek was shooting him he shook his head to dispel his best bud's anger.

"Naw man, of course not," he said quickly before he began laughing so hard he thought his gut would burst.

Derek glared at his friend before growling out in false anger, "You'd better watch it, Halliwell."

At this warning, Chris' laughter, which had almost stopped, began again in earnest. "So, what are you saying? That you're irresistible to women?"

Derek's look told Chris clearly 'I cannot believe you just said that.' He then began his defense with a supremely confident smile, "Of course I am irresistible to women. Jondy's friend Heather certainly thought so."

This logic caused Chris to chuckle. "What? like she's particular?"

"No one is particular compared to you, my friend," Derek said giving Chris a raised eyebrow.

Chris raised one right back before retorting, "What is that supposed to mean?"

Derek shrugged innocently, "Just that you obsess over this one girl for four years, and when you actually start having an actual relationship with said girl you don't even seem happy about it."

Chris groaned unhappily before replying, "It's just that I really like her, and I feel like she's hiding something from me."

"Hiding something from you?" Derek repeated disbelievingly. "Dude, she's a girl. They can't tell us everything. Part of what makes the ladies so lovely is that we don't understand them. They're a complete mystery. For all you know, Jondy's secretive side could be what you're most attracted to. Besides you've only really known her for a coupla days. I bet you haven't told her all your secrets, so you can't expect her to tell you all hers."

"Well, I guess not," Chris said uncertainly.

"'Course not," Derek drawled smugly.

"So you think I'm overreacting?"

Derek grinned. "Maybe just a little bit," he said sarcastically.

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"Jondy," A voice whispered from Jondy's right.

After waiting a second without a response, Chris tried to get her attention again.

"Jondy," he hissed a bit more urgently.

She looked over at where he sat, and tried to hide her smile. He had moved from his customary back-corner-seat to one a bit closer to the middle, and a bit closer to her.

"What?" she hissed back with the same amount of energy, but a lot more exasperation. Of course, it was becoming difficult for her to be exasperated with him when he was being so cute.

'Damn, I'm starting to sound like Heather. Next thing I know I'll be going around checking out guy's butts to see whose is the cutest.' She shuddered mentally at that thought as she tried not to grimace. 'If Lydecker could see me now…' she added with a mental snicker, 'big, scary super weapon, yep that's me.' She barely resisted the urge to giggle madly at the thought. It wasn't like her to act so…silly. On the other hand, she always did feel weird after a bout of seizures.

'I blame it all on the Tryptophan. What is _in_ that stuff anyways? Oh well, I guess it could be worse. I'm just lucky that I've never gotten them as bad as some of the others. Like Max…or Jack…'

_Jack's trembling eventually got to the point where his legs could no longer support him. They gave out beneath him, and he suddenly fell out of line with a gasp. Jondy heard him hit the cold, hard floor, but she didn't dare so much as look-_

"Jondy? Hey, you okay?"

Jondy snapped out of her memory to stare up at Chris.

"The bell rang," he told her with that concerned look still written clearly across his face.

She picked up her books and walked with him out the door. "I'm fine, Chris. Really. So what were you trying to tell me during class today?"

"I was just gonna ask you if you were coming over tonight," he asked giving her such a hopeful look she was tempted to say 'yes'. Very tempted.

"I'm sorry, Chris, I can't," she told him regretfully, hoping he would just let it go.

But apparently Chris wasn't the letting it go type. "Why not?" he demanded, probably more forcefully than he had intended.

She gave him an odd look and said, "I've just got a few errands to run. What of it?"

"What sort of errands?" he asked. He was being so forceful and demanding and so…unlike himself that the what-the-heck-is-going-on look on her face got even more concentrated.

Jondy glared at him before insistently asking him, "What business is it of yours?"

Chris swallowed hard. He then started shuffling his feet in a manner that clearly stated how uncomfortable he was.

"Um…well, ya see…" he began, "I…um…you're meeting another guy aren't you?" Chris looked supremely uncomfortable with the question, as if the second it escaped his mouth he wanted nothing more than to stuff it back in.

She chuckled at his discomfort saying with a laugh, "Naw, it's nothing like that."

"Oh," he said with surprise. "Oh, um, okay. Well I guess-"

"We can work on the project tomorrow," she told him with a beatific grin.

"Okay, well, I guess that'll be fine," Chris responded automatically, as he tried to get his higher brain functions working again.

"I'll see you around," she told him as grabbed her book bag and books from her locker. Chris looked puzzled as she seemingly got her stuff ready to go.

"Um, Jondy, you do know that we still have one period left to go, don't you?" he queried.

She shrugged in a way that projected extreme unconcern. "Not for me. I've gotta go."

"Are you serious?"

Jondy shot him a look that said clearly that she was not kidding.

"Okay, so you're serious. Where're you going that requires you to bail on school?" he asked, sounding a little too paternal in Jondy's opinion.

"Don't worry about it. I'll see you tomorrow," she told him as she walked down the hall and toward the front doors like she owned the place.

"Alright, now it's official," he remarked nearly inaudibly as she left. 'I just don't understand that girl.' He thought as he shook his head, and headed back down the hall and toward class.

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A/N: Just for the record I thought up the whole her-ditching-class-to-take-care-of-Zoë thing before **Karone Evertree**'s suggestion. But it just goes to show you that great minds thing alike, huh?


	15. What the hell?

A/N: I really hope you people are happy. I really should be studying for my Spanish final right now, but instead study time has turned into writting a huge monster chapter. But I really didn't think that it would be fair to keep any of you waiting any longer, especially since I'm in such a good mood from all the reviews. Plus my muse has been cooperating, bad timing, but hey, what can ya do?

**Karone Evertree: **I'm glad you liked it. There's not any actual Zoe and Jondy interaction in this one, but hopefully there'll be more of that soon.

**mel11: ** Thank you. I'm really glad you liked it. I really like writing Derek, which actually suprises me because the other original characters-Zoe and Heather-are based on people I know. But Derek isn't at all. He just kind of came out of nowhere, but he's been really fun to work with.

**IcantthinkofaFnick: **Your comments made me laugh, especially the one about Jondy spotting Chris on the Golden Gate Bridge. This one is much longer, and there is more Jondy/Chris action. I'm really glad you like the story so far. I would like to dedicate this next chapter to you for being such a good reviewer. Seriously, you have no idea how good it felt to pull up my story and see all the reviews. You really made my day, so...thanks.

Disclaimer: I realize I forgot one last time, so for those who are confused-I **don't **own anything that belongs to the brilliant people who made **Dark Angel** the joyride that it was or who make **Charmed** what it, in my opinion the best hour on television.

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Jondy looked at the many faces staring up at her unhappily. She still couldn't believe that she was here, in Zoë's elementary school class, about to give a mini-speech about life as a high school student to her foster sister's classmates, and their parents. If she had been required to do this for anyone else, she would have said 'hell no' and hung them out to dry. But the fact that it was for Zoë made all the difference in the world. It just went to show how much she cared for the little squirt.

The past fifteen hours or so had passed in a blur. It was, of course, a universal law that when you had something you dreaded, somewhere you didn't want to be, time seemed to go a hundred times faster than it usually did. Jondy wasn't very familiar with the concept, well, not until she had to be at Zoë's school at eight o'clock to fill in as Zoë's parent day speaker.

She could feel the weight of their gazes, and she knew what they were probably thinking. They were probably thinking the same thing that Zoë's teacher, Miss Wendy, had thought when Jondy had first gone to see her the afternoon before-that Jondy was awfully young to have a child.

She knew that there were those of them who were probably judging her, thinking that she was an unmarried teen mother who couldn't possibly adequately provide for her child. Some of them probably pitied her, as the Halliwells had that night at dinner when she had told them, at least some of the truth about her parentage.

It didn't really matter much to her what they thought. Jondy most definitely wasn't perfect. But she sure as hell wasn't another statistic.

To people like these, the upper crust of society that her foster parents were a part of, that was all she would ever be. They were the cream of the crop, so to speak, they did what they wanted and it didn't matter much to them who they ran over in the process.

Jondy didn't much care who they were. She was made to be a survivor. Her skin was thick enough to take any and all verbal abuse headed her way. But not everyone, even in the post-pulse world, was that strong. Some people-some _humans_ were naturally frail, fragile creatures. Zoë was one of these, which was of course, the reason that Jondy had taken her under her wing.

Zoë had such a sweet nature. Jondy wasn't usually so fond of those who couldn't take care of themselves but the innocence and unrequited love of the three year old held her to Zoë more securely than anything Manticore had ever used. She knew in her heart that Zoë's unflinching trust was worth more than all the money that these wealthy socialites had in their bank account combined.

And so with the calm assurance that seemed to have been breed within her, Jondy opened her mouth and began to speak.

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Chris had been going crazy all day. Ever since her rather hasty parting yesterday, no one had seen or heard from Jondy. After not seeing her all morning or at lunch, he had even gone up to Heather to ask if she knew where Jondy was. She had responded with a negative, but had sent him an unsettling look that said that she knew something he didn't. And as much as he had tried all day, he couldn't get that look out of his mind.

He went home dejectedly and settled himself down on the couch with a groan. He just could not understand why things couldn't just be easy, just this once.

He was still wondering why life was so rough and unfair when the doorbell rang. Knowing that no one else would be home yet, Chris dragged himself off the couch and toward the front door, trying to get there before the person got impatient and decided to take it out on the buzzer. But whoever was there didn't seem to have that particular problem as they waited quietly out on the porch.

Well, whoever it was it most certainly wasn't a demon. They would have blown the door off its hinges by now. He thought that it might have been Darryl needing some help with a suspiciously demonic-looking murder…Or maybe some sort of door-to-door salesman?

What he wasn't expecting was to open the door and find a speculative Jondy on the other side.

Chris stood and stared at her for several seconds without saying a word or getting out of the doorway so Jondy could come in. Jondy waited for him to collect himself, but after realizing that that might not be happening anytime in the near future, and since what patience she had started the day with was all gone after dealing with the kiddies and their God awful parents all day, she decided to take charge of the situation.

"Hey Chris," she said in a much softer voice than the one she usually used, "Do you mind letting me in?"

He jerked back at a near transgenic speed before motioning for her to follow him.

"So," Chris said before raking his fingers through his hair uncomfortably. "Where've you been all day?"

"Oh, you know, here and there," Jondy told him nonchalantly.

Chris glared, "You skipped school."

Jondy raised an eyebrow. "That I did." She said serenely.

He shook his head unhappily, "You shouldn't do that, Jondy."

"So?" she asked him as if unable to believe he was getting so upset.

And Chris was getting upset. Very upset. He didn't know if it was the fact that he was a Halliwell and as such had inherited from his mom a vicious temper or that it was because he hadn't known where she was all day and had spent the entire time worried about where she might be and the trouble she might be in, but suddenly he was acting like a parent with a sixteen year old daughter who had just broken her curfew.

"I'm serious, Jondy, where were you?" he demanded in a voice that she had never even heard him use before. Not even the day before, when he had asked a remarkably similar question.

Jondy just rolled her eyes. "I told you to stay out of it." She told him on no uncertain terms, her voice so matter-of-fact and typical badass that Chris' eyes narrowed.

"I mean it, Jondy. School is important to your future; you need to be there. You can't just sleep in, or whatever, anytime you feel like it."

"I didn't sleep in," she said flippantly.

"Yeah sure," Chris related in a way that clearly stated his disbelief.

"First of all, you sound like you're my dad or something, so cut it out, it's disturbing. Secondly, I don't sleep," she paused with a weary sigh. "And last, but not least, I've had a long day, so be nice."

Chris looked surprised for a moment at the outburst before asking, "You don't sleep?"

Jondy shook her head, "Uh uh. Not usually."

"But if you don't sleep…what do you do at night?" he queried, still not quite believing her.

She shrugged elegantly, "Sometimes I read. Sometimes I just sit there and think."

Chris wanted to ask her what she thought about when she was laying there late at night, but he didn't want to push her. Not to mention that he didn't think she'd answer him anyways, so he took a different tactic.

"When you say 'I read' what you really mean to say is 'I memorize Brave New World' isn't it?" he asked with a teasing lilt to his voice.

Jondy smirked slightly. Well, if that was how he was going to be…When she spoke, her voice contained that same teasing tone as well as a boatload of sarcastic superiority.

"Well, ya see Chris; I can't help it that I'm smarter than you."

Chris smiled before shooting back, "I know you're not saying that _I've_ been outsmarted by a little blonde ditz."

At this reply Jondy's smirk, which she had fought to keep hidden, suddenly spread across her face. It was funny that the morning she had had at Zoë's school, miserable because of those snotty society parents, seemed not to be so horrible anymore. After spending the entire morning in their company, even Jondy's nerves of steel had about had more than they could handle.

Jondy could try to deny it all she wanted, but she had felt the need to be comforted, and in response, her body moved on autopilot towards Chris' house. And she knew that the reasons she reacted the way she did had absolutely nothing to do with the English project, and absolutely everything to do with the young man with the most gorgeous emerald green eyes she had ever seen.

Even now, he made her feel better about the whole situation, as he took on a voice that sounded eerily close to the self important ones she'd heard prattle on and on all morning.

He made her feel more at home than she had felt in years, and strong as she was, tough as she was, she ached for it.

It was then that Chris realized that during all their joking, they had slowly inched closer towards one another, until they were only about a foot apart. Chris' smile slowly faded as he leaned over and softly brushed his lips across hers. For one instant, he felt complete and utter ecstasy, but it wasn't meant to last.

Jondy pulled away from him in shock, eyes blazing.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" she demanded with an accompanying glare that clearly stated that he'd better start explaining. And fast.

As Chris began to stutter an explanation, Jondy's thoughts were in turmoil. She liked Chris. Really she did. She felt a kinship to him that she had never felt with anyone, except for when she was with her brothers and sisters.

The question wasn't, and hadn't ever really been, whether of not she liked him. No, the question was-did she feel the way towards Chris as she would a friend or as…well, the way he obviously felt about her.

All Jondy was certain of, was that the sensation of being kissed by Chris was a decidedly odd one. Not that it was unpleasant, because that most definitely was not the case. But it was different than any kiss she had ever had.

Although, to be fair, it wasn't like she had had much experience kissing guys. Despite a few rumors that had been spread around school about her by some evil girls in the grades above her. Most of the guys she did end up kissing weren't guys like Chris, guys that she actually liked being around. Most of them were complete strangers.

But that was hardly her fault. Nope, that was the result her feline DNA that had put her in hormonal hell two, maybe three, times a year since she had hit puberty. It was during this time that she ended up getting plenty of kisses, and then some, as her mind tried to fight off her body's urge to mate.

It was disgusting and just plain wrong. The inhuman need would leave her feeling like she was covered with dirt that wouldn't wash off, every single time. It was just one more example of how she could never truly escape Manticore.

But those kisses, and the _activities_, that followed weren't like the one she had just experienced. It was soft and sweet and tender and a million things that she had never thought she would feel, all rolled into one.

It was really too bad that she didn't like him like that.

'Whatever you have to tell yourself.' _That_ voice said again. Jondy remembered that voice. She definitely didn't like it either, not one little bit.

'Aw shut up. You have no idea what you're talking about.' She snapped at it.

'What? So I'm just supposed to let you keep deluding yourself into thinking that you don't like him-and I'm not talking about as a brother either. I think you've got more than enough of those.'

'Hey, you're supposed to be on _my_ side.' She told it angrily, while feeling more than a little bit silly about arguing with herself.

'It's not the arguing you have to worry about. It's when you start losing that you should get worried.' The voice responded snidely before falling silent, momentarily at least.

She cut Chris off mid explanation, and hastily threw him a 'bye' over her shoulder as she practically sprinted out of the house, down the steps, and down onto the street. She didn't even slow down until she turned down another street, and saw with relief that she was out of there and that he wasn't coming after her.

'Not that he could catch me,' she thought with a tired smile.

She headed up to her building, and plopped herself down. After everything that had just happened, she had some serious thinking to do.

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A/N: Review!!


	16. Everybody's got problems

A/N: I'm **so** glad you guys liked the last chapter. The kiss wasn't really something I planned on putting in the story quite yet, but I was faced with this major case of writer's block. Before I knew it, I was writing the kiss and the whole chapter just seemed to come after that. I debated on whether to leave the kiss in or not. You guys have no idea on how close it came to getting axed, but now I'm glad I left it in, 'cause you all seemed to like it.

**Karone Evertree:** Me too! I **hate **speaking in public. But I just don't see her having that particular fear, lucky girl!

**mel11:** Maybe not too much longer, maybe. I'm glad you liked it!!

**IcantthinkofaFnick:** You feel flattered? You made me blush, you so did. That's so cool that Spanish is your native language. I'm trying to learn to speak it, but it's been a bit of a pain. My professor is a bit…well, let's just say that none of us like her very much.

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Jondy didn't even know how long she'd sat on the rooftop. She loved being on top of her building, her high place. She loved it because when she was up here, she could look down and see so many other people. When she went to her high place, that's just what they were-people. Not transgenic, not human-just people. They were no different than she was. They had their own families, and their own problems. Just like she did.

Granted their problems probably ran more toward paying their bills or trying to keep their kids from doing drugs than in the form of a covert government agency that wanted to capture, control, and maybe even kill them. But hey, problems were still problems.

Jondy sighed unhappily. Judging by the sun, she had been up here for hours, and there was still no solution in sight for her problem. She knew she had to figure out a way to handle the whole Chris situation or else she was going to have a very uncomfortable day at school, but she just didn't seem to be coming to a way to solve the problem any time soon. Seeing how even being at her spot didn't help, she decided to do the only thing she could.

Jondy unhappily headed down the stairs of her building and slipped through the crowded streets with the easy grace that one might expect from someone who was part feline.

As reluctant as she was to head home, her obligation to Zoë, once again, came before her own desires. She didn't trust the other fosters to look after the little girl when they could barely care for themselves. When it came to it, the fact of the matter was that Jondy felt like Zoë was her responsibility, and she didn't trust anyone else to take care of her.

It went against Jondy's nature to tie herself down, to be caged. But Zoë needed her, so for the sake of the little girl, that was exactly what she had done.

Jondy saw the mansion looming over her as if conjured by a dream, or a nightmare. She climbed the numerous stairs with an effortlessness that would have had any Olympic athlete green with envy. She reached the top of the stairs and opened the heavy door slowly as she felt the weight of responsibility settle itself firmly back around her slender shoulders. She leaned her forehead up against the cool surface of the smooth wood as she tried to collect her thoughts.

Suddenly Jondy felt her arm be yanked back and used for leverage to swing her into the hallway wall, head first.

In the next few seconds Jondy would wonder how she never saw it coming; how she hadn't reacted with reflexes that had been honed from infancy. Later she would conclude that her chaotic thoughts had handicapped her, blinded her to dangers that she would not have normally overlooked. Those thoughts about Chris had caused her to be caught completely off guard for the very first time she could remember.

Jondy could have sworn she saw stars dance across her vision as she fought to stay conscious.

"Where were you?" an angry voice growled from nearby. A voice Jondy, even in her foggy state, had no trouble recognizing, although she had never heard it directed toward her before.

She had always known that her foster father, John Altman, could be a cruel man. Jondy knew enough to know that he had several business dealings that often leaned toward the wrong side of the law. He'd never scared her, and he didn't at that moment either. She wasn't one to be intimidated easily. But, ever since the moment she had stepped into the 2.3 million dollar mansion, she had known that it would be prudent to be very careful of what she let slip around him.

Fortunately, the Altmans generally avoided even being in the same vicinity as their foster children. But, obviously she had crossed one of his lines, or maybe she had just been in the wrong place at such a perfect time.

The Altmans came from old money, and they liked to believe that they were higher class than any of the other people that they knew. As far as their foster children went, they didn't much care what they did. So long as they strictly adhered to their rule that the foster were never, **ever** to draw attention to themselves. The Altmans believed that if they did the foster might shine a less than flattering light on them, and the Altmans avoided bad lighting like an aging ex-supermodel.

"What do you mean?" Jondy ground out a bit desperately, while thinking that it would be a miracle if she didn't have a concussion.

John Altman apparently didn't like her evasiveness because he tightened his grip on her arm before answering. "Your principle from school called here today. He said that you weren't at school for some of your classes yesterday, and he thought that you might be sick."

"Who's to say I wasn't?" Jondy asked with narrowed eyes. She was frustrated that he had gotten the drop on her, not to mention furious because of the death grip he had on her arm.

"You're not allowed to be out sick," he told her coldly, "I don't care if you're on your deathbed. You **will** go to school, and you will act like there's nothing wrong with you. Do you hear me?"

"Yeah, yeah, I hear you," Jondy replied with just enough sarcasm for him to wonder if he had really heard it or just imagined it. Of course, being the bastard that he was, he didn't wonder long.

"You had better not get an attitude with me kid. There are plenty of ways I can find to make your life unpleasant if you even so much as think about crossing me." At this, believing that he had adequately demonstrated his dominance, he let her go and stalked off down the hall in the direction of his study.

Jondy watched him go with a disbelieving look on her face. "You had better not get an attitude with me," she mimicked. "There are plenty of ways I can make your life unpleasant," she said sarcastically. "Oh, puleaze," she added with an eye roll thrown in for good measure. "Ass," Jondy muttered with finality as she headed in the opposite way to find Zoë.

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In the meantime, Chris was having trouble getting his head around the events that had occurred in the last few hours.

'Oh God, I can't believe I actually kissed her. Stupid Chris, stupid, stupid, stupid Chris,' he berated himself as he paced back and forth across the living room rug as he had been doing since Jondy's abrupt departure.

He was still pacing an hour later when his family got home. Piper called out his name, and upon waiting a reasonable amount of time without getting an answer, immediately became very worried. Piper, Phoebe, and Paige spread out through the house to search for him, but it was Wyatt who found him. His older brother coolly observed as Chris traversed the room time and again without seeming aware of anything that was going on around him or even of Wyatt's presence. Wyatt watched in amusement as their mom and aunts, realizing where Chris had to be, rushed to take in the scene as well.

They all stood there in shock for a moment as they took in the appearance of Piper's youngest son. Chris looked unbelievably disheveled, his hair particularly looked like someone had run their fingers through it time after time, which was exactly what had happened if the way he periodically reached up to run his fingers through it was any indication. His clothes were rumpled and looked almost as if he had slept in them. He kept circling the room without seeming to look at anything other than the ground. And occasionally he would mutter words that sounded like "stupid" and "idiot".

Every adult Halliwell was at a complete and utter loss for words. Wyatt didn't look any more communicative, but he seemed more amused than horrified at the state of his brother.

Paige and Wyatt exchanged glances before turning and walking in the opposite direction, pulling Piper with them, as they left Phoebe to deal with Chris. Piper protested this arrangement with the argument that she was Chris' mother and that he needed her at the moment.

Phoebe reassured her sister by saying, "Its okay, honey. I'll take care of him."

"Are you sure?" Piper asked with a voice full of worry.

"Honey," Phoebe answered, "This _is_ what I do."

Piper still began to protest, "But-"

"Sweetie, let her take care of it, okay?" Paige said cutting her off.

Piper nodded and allowed herself to be lead in the direction of the kitchen, as Phoebe headed toward Chris to do what she did best.

Phoebe approached Chris as slowly and as cautiously as she would have approached a startled animal.

"Chris," she asked, trying to gently rouse him from his trance. He finally noticed her and looked down at her with startled eyes. Gradually the tension in his body faded as he seemed to come to the realization of where he was and who he was talking to.

He sighed in frustration and raked his hands through his hair again before addressing her, "Hi Aunt Phoebe."

Phoebe raised her eyebrows at his words. "Chris, do you want to tell me what's bugging you?"

"How do you know something's bugging me?"

"Just a hunch," she told him taking in his appearance. "So, girl problems?" Phoebe asked.

"What gave me away?"

She shot him a pointed look. "Ya know, Chris, you can ask me about this stuff. I'm told I give great advice."

Chris thought about it for a second before replying. "I know you do, Aunt Phoebe," he drew a ragged breath before continuing, "I just don't know what to do about a little problem I'm having with Jondy."

"A little problem?" Phoebe repeated disbelievingly. "Chris, what happened?"

Chris paced a bit more before finally settling himself on the couch and dropping his head into his hands.

"I kissed her," he finally replied.

Phoebe's eyebrows shot up again. "And that is not a good thing, I take it."

"Judging by the way that she pushed me away like I had mono or something, no it's not a good thing," Chris groaned.

"Chris," Phoebe soothed as she sat beside him, "you have to understand. Jondy may be confused about her feelings for you, or she may just like you as a friend. Either way it wouldn't be a good idea for you to push her."

Chris shook his head in denial, "I'm not trying to. I didn't mean to push her, but…"

Phoebe rubbed his back sympathetically, or in her case empathetically. "I know how it is, honey. But you've got to let her come to you."

Chris nodded unhappily but accepting Phoebe's advice given that her experience with girls was so much greater than his own, seeing as how she was one.

"Okay, I'll try."

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After finding Zoë and keeping her up way past her bedtime, Jondy had finally decided that it would probably be okay for her to sleep. Once she had tracked down her foster sister, she had been struck with a sudden wave of exhaustion, which she thought undoubtedly signified that she had a concussion.

She figured that she would simply keep Zoë entertained until the concussion seemed to have passed. She must've hit her head harder than she thought, though, since it was still affecting her. With her healing abilities she would have thought it would have been a distant memory, but that didn't seem to be the case. Unfortunately, it had been nearly five hours since the event had occurred and it was now way past Zoë's bedtime. The little girl had attempted admirably to stay awake, but she could barely keep her eyes open and was swaying uncertainly on her feet.

Jondy ushered the little girl to bed reluctantly. She didn't trust herself not to fall asleep without someone there to keep her awake. Instead of feeling better as she should considering the amount of time that had occurred since 'the incident', she only felt worse. It had gotten to the point where she not only felt deep exhaustion, but she also felt feverish, as if she were coming down with some kind of illness.

As Jondy pondered this, her eyes drifted closed of their own accord and she drifted off into a light sleep…

_Jondy was at school. She was walking down the hallways that suddenly seemed thousands of times longer than she remembered it being. Suddenly she turned and looked behind her to discover that the hallway stretched as far as she could see that way as well._

_Seeing movement out of the corner of her eye, she whipped her head around to see Chris leaned insolently against the door of Ms. Bennett's classroom. It was then that she noticed that everyone else who should have cluttered the halls were suspiciously absent. It was also around that time that the fact that he wasn't wearing a shirt registered._

_The strangeness of all of this seemed lost on her, because she simply walked right up to Chris, grabbed the back of his neck, and dragged him into a deep kiss. This kiss was completely different than the one he had laid on her earlier. That kiss had been full of sweet promise, while this one was full of a different kind of promise altogether._

_She backed him into the classroom without breaking the kiss. He encouraged her by brushing his fingers over her denim-clad hips. Jondy pushed him up on the teacher's desk that was at the front of the classroom. He didn't fight her, instead to pulling her into his lap._

_Finally pulling away from him, she reached down to the hem of her shirt and pulled it up and over her head._

"_I can't believe this is really happening," Chris told her before pulling her back into another drugging kiss._

_Those words finally managed to bring her back to her senses. "I can't believe it either," she replied as she shrunk back from him. "And you know what that means…"_

Jondy woke up with a start.

"Oh, God, I'm in heat again."

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	17. Flushed

A/N: Well, this took forever to put up here. Sorry about that, but I had exams and everything was all crazy so… Well, this took me pretty much all day to write, and I'm still not really happy with it. Anyways it's here now.

Thanks to all those who reviewed!!!

Disclaimer: I only own the laptop I'm writing all these on.

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The next morning found Jondy going through her school locker at school in an attempt to distract herself. Her foster father had been very clear the night before that if she missed school again he would be very pissed, and that was simply more grief than she needed at the moment. Especially since, were he to attack her again, she would be about as likely to kiss him as to kick him.

Besides, when she had considered her options in the wee hours of the morning, school had seemed to be a relatively safe place for her to be. Jumping people in the hallways was still frowned upon by the teachers and other various authority figures, so she figured that the trouble she could get into would most likely be minimal.

Boy had she been wrong. The problem was that in her early hour musings, she had failed to take into account all the boys that would be at school. Teenage boys. Horny, sweaty…utterly beautiful young men.

She gave one such guy, who was passing by, a winning smile and her best "come hither" look. He stumbled and nearly fell, but continued heading in the opposite direction.

Jondy shook her head as she realized what she was doing. She dug her nails into her palm, as her mind fought for control. She _had_ to fight it. She _couldn't_ give in.

Heat had always brought her trouble in the past.

It made her feel dirty…used. It made her feel like she wasn't in control of her own body anymore, like even escaping hadn't been enough to keep Manticore from winning.

And even without the emotional baggage it never ceased to bring with it, it also made fitting in unbelievably difficult. Heat was a big part of the reason that the girls at school wouldn't touch her with a ten foot pole, much less invite her to hang with them or party with them.

It was all because of an incident the year before where she and the football-playing boyfriend of one of the cheerleaders had been caught in a…compromising position. After that, pretty much all of the girls had shunned her. Most of them called her a ho to her face and worse things behind her back. Pretty much the only girl who was decent to her was Heather. Of course, Heather wasn't too judgmental seeing how the other girls didn't like her either because of a similar incident that had occurred in a secluded part of the gym, remarkably with the same guy.

'You would think he would be able to keep it in his pants,' she mused with a small amused smile. 'Although you would also think that after over a year that they would get over it-' the thought was cut off as she was roughly shoulder checked by one of those same girls. 'Or not,' she added with a shrug.

The attitude of the overly preppy cheerleaders didn't much bother her ordinarily, but these particular comments stung. Probably because they mirrored the words that often went through her head after an episode with heat.

The fact that she had so little control over it had been a sore point since she had lost her virginity at sixteen to a complete stranger. After that, she had always done her best to fight the animal inside of her.

And she had had some success. Sometimes she would go into heat with the determination not to do the dirty deed with anyone, and she would succeed. But sometimes no matter how determined she was not to do anything she would regret, it happened anyways.

It might have been easier if the average male that she was around during her cycle had a clue about what was going on in her crazy, science project body. It might've helped if she had even one person who knew what her problem was.

But who could she tell? Heather? To tell her what the problem was would require Jondy to explain just how and why she was part feline. That would go over well. Her foster parents? Like they would give a damn. Zoe? Although she would most likely be the easiest to tell about Manticore, Zoe was just a kid. She didn't understand the whole sex thing, and she wouldn't be able to keep Jondy from going over to the dark side anyways.

No, the fact was that Jondy had no choice but to go it alone. It sucked, it was completely unfair, and it more often than not, led to her having wild, animalistic sex with a complete stranger. But, she knew that when push came to shove, she was the only one she could depend on. If one of her sibs had with her, then it might've been different. But might've beens weren't life. She had seen too much in her short life to not know that. She just had to deal with the hand she had been dealt and that was that.

"Hey, you okay?"

Jondy looked up to meet her friend's concerned eyes.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Why do you ask?" she queried as she did her best to keep from jumping the next guy to pass by her.

Heather followed Jondy's eyes before fixing her with a questioning look. "You've just been acting funny today."

Jondy carefully fixed her eyes on a distant point on the wall before replying. "I'm fine."

Heather raised her eyebrows disbelievingly, but let the subject drop, choosing to pursue another topic instead. "So, how're things with you and your boy."

Jondy groaned unhappily. "Don't ask."

"Too late," Heather replied with a snarkiness that even impressed Jondy.

Her friend looked at her in surprise. "I really, really, _really_ don't want to talk about it."

"Jondy did something happen between you and Chris?" Heather asked with a small smirk on her face that clearly said that she already knew the answer, earning a glare from Jondy.

"What makes you think anything happened?" Jondy shot back with her more than her usual dose of sarcasm.

Heather rolled her eyes at this response, "If nothing happened then you wouldn't be avoiding the question." She pointed out.

Jondy met her eyes angrily in a silent show-down. Finally, seeing that Heather was not going to back down, Jondy gave in. "Alright. He kissed me, okay?" she said exasperatedly.

Her friend merely nodded as if she had expected as much all along. When Heather finally spoke, the reply wasn't what Jondy had anticipated, "So, how was it?"

"Heather!" Jondy exclaimed. "Are you serious?" Of course, Heather's question got Jondy thinking about Chris' kiss. And then she got to thinking about Chris' lips, which led to thinking about other things…

She shook those thoughts out of her head just in time to hear Heather reply that she was perfectly serious.

Jondy cleared her throat as she tried to focus on her conversation with her friend. "Why do you care anyways? What do you have a crush on him or something?" Jondy wondered aloud as she inwardly wondered why that thought bothered her as much as it did.

"Please, he's not my type. I just think that he might be yours," she stated calmly, ignoring the glares Jondy was still shooting her. "Besides, you still haven't told me about this kiss."

"There's not that much to tell," was Jondy's noncommittal response. Heather's look clearly stated that she wanted more of a response than that. "He kissed me; I pulled away. End of story."

"Wait a second. You didn't kiss him back?"

"I already told you no," Jondy said impatiently, while wondering 'what part of this is hard to grasp'.

Heather looked like she was about to start screaming at her friend. "Why didn't you kiss him back?" she demanded in a tone that said that Jondy had better have a good explanation.

"I…I don't feel that way about him," Jondy said. Although she suddenly felt that this was the wrong answer, judging from the daggers Heather was shooting her.

Heather didn't seem to accept this answer. "What are you going to do about it?"

"Do I have to _do_ something?" Jondy asked. She suddenly felt as if she and Heather were speaking different languages.

"Yes!" Heather yelled, causing several people in the hall to turn and stare at them.

Always conscious of the attention she got, Jondy's reply was a little bit quieter. "Why?" she badgered. "Why should I?"

"Because the poor guy really likes you," Heather pointed out.

Jondy wasn't fazed by this, "Well, maybe I don't like him. Not like that at any rate."

Heather thought over her answer for a second before replying, "Well, then it's a good thing that that's not a problem."

"What do you mean?" Jondy asked uncomprehendingly.

"I mean that you _do_ like him, and that it'll be easier on all of us if you'd just admit it already," voiced Heather.

Their argument was interrupted by the sudden shrill of the bell. Jondy headed down towards her class and away from her friend's speculations without saying a word. But Heather was not about to let her get away so easily.

"You can't just run away from this."

"Watch me."

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For hours, Jondy and Heather didn't speak to each other at all. They still walked to their classes together and sat beside each other in the lunchroom. But, things weren't exactly right between them. Finally, sick of sitting in complete silence, Heather decided to try to break the ice.

"I'm sorry," she apologized, "I didn't mean to push you. I know how you hate it when people do that. I just want you to be happy."

Jondy angrily fired back, "I'm fine. I don't need anyone to make me happy. I cannot believe that you would even imply that."

"I just…I know that you're lonely, J, I can see it. I know that you think that you don't need anyone or anything, but you do."

Jondy was incredulous, "That's what friends are for. I don't need to run out and get a boyfriend."

Heather tried to sooth her friend's ruffled feathers. "I just think that it might be good for you to…well, he's the first guy that you've ever shown interest in. And he actually reminds me a lot of you."

Jondy chuckled, dissipating the tension. "You _do_ know that you're crazy, right?"

"Almost as crazy as you," Heather shot back with a smirk. "So, about this Chris thing…" she said causing Jondy to groan and rest her head on the table in an attempt to escape Heather's questioning.

"I still say you like him."

"And I still say that you should seriously consider getting professional help," Jondy replied.

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Heather only smiled a smile that grew into a grin as soon as she spotted the object of their debate. Chris spotted them too, and he quickly made his way over to them. By the time Jondy realized the source of that smile on Heather's face, it was too late. She had been pinned in between her friend and would-be-boyfriend, and there was nothing she could do about it. 'Damn it. Looks like I'm going to have to confront this little problem head on, instead of running from it. But I like running from things. I'm really good at running away from things. Why, oh why, couldn't they have had a class about this at Manticore?'

Chris looked like he would rather be just about anywhere else at the moment. In other words, he looked exactly like she felt. Maybe Heather had been right about that whole you're-a-lot-alike thing. Not that she had been right about anything else, or anything.

Although, Jondy had to admit, to her heat-clouded eyes, Chris was pretty damn fine. She actually found herself licking her lips in anticipation before forcing the feline down.

It also helped that Heather noticed that she seemed out of it and decided to bring her back to the real world. "Are you okay, J?"

Jondy blushed at being caught, but she managed to control herself enough to reply that she was fine.

Seeing the pink in Jondy's cheeks were Heather felt concerned for her friend, "Ya know you've been flushed all day. Are you coming down with something?"

"Maybe. Probably," she responded matter-of-factly.

"Well, you know if you're getting sick, you don't need to be on your own," Heather said with a calculating gleam in her eyes. "You should stay where someone can keep an eye on you." Her words seemed innocent enough, but the look she was shooting the two of them made her intentions clear.

Apparently Chris understood the look too, "Jondy would you like to come over and work on the project with me?"

"Actually, today's not really good for me. Maybe another time," Jondy quipped.

"Look, I realize that things are a little weird between us, and that it's my fault that they are. But that's not any reason for us to completely ignore each other," Chris said sincerely.

As comforting as that was, it still didn't eliminate the big problem with going over to Chris' house-the problem of the situation being more than her thin control could handle.

"I don't think-" she began.

She was interrupted by a scheming Heather, "She'd love to."

Jondy found herself being pulled along with Chris, put in his car, and chauffeured to his house. When they got there, Jondy reluctantly got out of the car and followed Chris up the stairs to the house, as the phase 'this is a _bad_ idea' repeated over and over in her head the whole way.

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A/N: Please Review!!


	18. Hormones

A/N: Okay, I realize that it's been over a month since I updated, so I could grovel for this entire author's note and I would still have a lot of groveling left to do. In my defense my muse decided to take an extended vacation, and I was completely blank. The other reason is, of course, good ol' fashioned procrastination, which I don't have an excuse for.

_Karone Evertree_: Thanks, I feel kind of pathetic a lot of the time sitting around writing those. It really makes me nervous that nobody else will thing they're funny. So, I'm glad you like 'em.

_Calen_: I see your point, but...the whole incident with Normal happened when OC wasn't watching her for like two seconds. Plus there was that whole thing with Logan in the car. Even though they were alone, she still managed to keep herself from jumping him. Basically my theory is that it's worse if they aren't around a bunch of people, and that it gets progressively worse before peaking and gradually dying back down. In the episode "Heat", Max says something along the lines of, "Thank God the worst of it's over." I took this to mean the whole peaking and then dying out thing, since this is never fully explained. Especially since it's never even mentioned in season two.

_phoebe turner_: Thanks. I'm glad you like it. Sorry you had to wait so long.

_IcantthinkofaFnick_: Stick around and find out.

Disclaimer: Yep, I still don't own them. I wished for them for Christmas, but sadly it's still just me and my laptop.

* * *

Jondy hadn't even climbed all the stairs to the house before she realized that this was a bad idea. A very bad one. 

One that was getting worse by the minute, as her senses, which were working overtime thanks to her feline DNA, detected that there was a person already in the house. 'Hum, a window must be open.' She could already tell that it was a male someone, and most likely one that was around her age. The part of her that was fully under the sway of her cycle, a part which was unfortunately increasing by the minute, was dissecting the scent, trying to discover where she had smelled that particular smell before.

Jondy her knees nearly buckled beneath her as she realized where exactly she had met this person-this very male person-before. It had been at this very house, the first time she had come over to work on the project with Chris.

The scent that was turning her on so much was Chris' brother Wyatt's. The rational part of Jondy's brain felt suddenly sick. It was bad enough to be having a major jonze for the guys at school and it was bad enough to have those kinds of thoughts about Chris, despite the fact that he didn't exactly seem completely opposed to the idea. But having _those_ kinds of thoughts about siblings, brothers...It made her want to run off and join a twelve step program or something.

But, although the whole having thoughts about two brothers thing kind of made her gag, an even bigger problem had arisen. As soon as she'd gotten a good whiff of his brother, Chris was the last thing on her mind. Even though her hormones didn't differentiate much between guys, as long as they were male who cared, they seemed to be particularly attracted to the strongest male nearby. She had read up on this theory and discovered that it wasn't just her imagination. It seemed that her feline cousin did something similar. Like that made her feel any better.

The problem was that as much as she liked...what was his name? Riiight, Chris. Anyway, as much as she liked Chris, he was just a little bit too juvenile for her right now. His brother on the other hand...

Jondy bit back the soft moan that threatened to escape at the thought of it. Of course, Chris just _had _to notice, and of course he just _had_ to ask about it.

"Are you okay?" he questioned with a voice full of concern. He was so sweet. It was too bad that that probably wasn't going to be the last time he felt the need to ask that question.

Fortunately for Jondy, the scientists at Manticore had felt compelled to give her a brain to match her freaky bodily functions. "I said, 'Oh my toe'. I stubbed it on the step."

"Oh, are you alright? Do you need help to the house?" Okay, so maybe there were a few holes in her plan.

"Nope. I'm fine."

Like a good woman savvy boy, he didn't push her. 'Good boy.' Jondy mentally praised, mentally resisting the urge to pat him on the head. Maybe this would all turn out alright after all. Yeah, right.

Chris didn't notice that there was someone else in the house until they had gotten all the way up those damn steps and inside. He saw a jacket hanging innocently by itself on the hook and instantly stiffened.

"Wyatt's home," he announced. This pronouncement came a little bit late for Jondy, but it seemed that it was more for his benefit than hers anyway.

"Hey, Chris," he said as he acknowledged her presence with a nod. "Jondy."

Chris nodded at his brother, but Jondy didn't even notice. She was far too busy drinking in every detail of the blond stud in front of her. She couldn't believe that she had never noticed before how well built he was. She licked her suddenly dry lips and froze as the action drew Wyatt's gaze. Luckily he didn't comment. Instead he simply gave her an odd look before turning his attention back to Chris. Who it turned out was saying something.

"So, I guess I should go upstairs and get the stuff for the project..." he trailed off as he suddenly noticed the strange behavior of both Jondy and his brother. "Are you two okay?"

"We're fine," Wyatt said in a commanding tone that didn't seem to settle so well with Chris.

Jondy smoothly inserted an, "I'll be fine," of her own.

As soon as Chris turned to trot up the stairs and out of sight, Wyatt turned to face her.

"So..." he began uncertainly. The rest of the phrase was left unfinished; however, as Jondy roughly shoved him against the foyer wall and laid one on him.

Wyatt froze in shock for several minutes. Finally, he managed to compose himself enough to push her off of him. He then began to survey her silently and carefully, as he kept a wide berth between their bodies. A very wide berth.

Jondy watched him with a predatory gleam in her eyes. Wyatt would be the first to admit that he didn't know the girl very well, but the look she was shooting him didn't exactly make the word normal come to mind. In fact, the only one that seemed to come close to describing it was inhuman. But that couldn't be right. He would have sensed it if she were some sort of demon or supernatural creature. Wouldn't he?

It was at that moment that Chris appeared at the top of the stairs, to differing levels of enthusiasm. He glanced back and forth between his brother and his crush, as he tried to decipher the odd way they were staring at each other.

"I think I'll leave you two kids alone now." Wyatt put in, in an attempt to break through the awkward silence that had settled on the three of them.

Jondy's protesting "But-" was drowned out by Chris' "Alright."

Wyatt couldn't seem to get out of the house soon enough. He barely took the time to grab his coat and shoot his brother a look that said 'good luck' before sprinting out the door and darting down the stairs.

Chris sighed exhaustively. "And then there were two."

He watched her speculatively for several long moments. "Why won't you look at me?" he asked in a tone that was so melancholy her head snapped up of its own accord before she had even realized that it had moved. And suddenly she felt her breath leave her with a whoosh. He was so hot, and if Wyatt was gone then that meant they were the only two people in the house. If she wanted to jump him then now would be the time to do it. She was so glad to know that her horniness was so transferable. Heh, yeah.

Her eyes snapped back down to examining the swirls in the wood floor. 'Bad Jondy,' she berated herself, 'none of that. No jumping perfectly nice men just because they happened to be around you right now! Wait a second...since when do I call Chris a man? Oh, he's looking at me expectantly and everything. I should probably say something, right? Um, yeah, probably.'

"So where did your parents go?" she queried absentmindedly. At the moment she would have asked him for the scientific formula of glue if she thought it would have taken her mind off doing the sweaty mambo. 'Don't even go there, Jondy.'

He answered her question, but she was so distracted by the movement of his lips that she had to get him to repeat it. Whoever said heat was humiliating?

"I said my parents went on a trip. They'll be back tomorrow morning," he explained slowly. Which she guessed was understandable given the amount of times he had probably repeated it. She flinched as his words registered. If she'd thought it was a struggle to keep her hands off him before...Her teeth were grinding and her muscles were straining at the effort it was taking.

Noticing her tension he asked in a voice full of concern, "Are you feeling okay? You've been acting kind of...funny today." Chris suddenly straightened up. Jondy could have sworn that she could see the light bulb go on over his head. Luckily it wasn't the right light bulb. "If you're worried about being here, um, you know, with me you don't have to be. I mean, yeah, my parents aren't going to be back until tomorrow, and it doesn't look like Wyatt's going to be coming back anytime soon. But it's not like I'm going to try anything. I mean, I won't do that to you."

If only it had been him she was worried about. 'This so figures. I finally meet a decent guy, and my screwed up genetics are gonna ruin everything. Well, damn.'

"You know, I think I may be coming down with something. I'm just burning up," Jondy told him distractedly. All the while she tried to keep from staring at his lips, or from licking hers. 'I am so screwed...Eugh, bad choice of words, Jondy,' she added with a grimace

Chris didn't seem to notice her internal battle however. He simply led her to the couch and gestured for her to sit down. He set down beside her, without relinquishing his hold on her hand. He reached up and gently brushed his fingers across her forehead.

"You're pretty warm," he commented with concern.

Jondy watched him as if in a trance. Her hormones were screaming with pleasure at the contact of his fingers, and Jondy realized that no matter how much she wanted to control it, her heat was about to take control. She was tired of fighting it, especially since it looked like she was fighting an uphill battle, one that she was outmanned and gunned for in the first place.

Chris was shocked as Jondy lent over and captured his lips with hers.

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	19. Heat

A/N: Sorry this wasn't up sooner. I had a few technical difficulties. But, anyway, the important thing is that it's up now.

**Charmed One1Only**: Thanks! I hope you like this one just as much.

**Zeria:** Glad you like it! As far as the plot goes there is a lot more to come, so stick around.

**phoebe turner**: Your wish is my command. Love your name by the way.

**Karone Evertree**: Glad you thought that made sense. I was afraid that it would come across as being one of those things that make sense until you try to tell someone.I'm glad you liked it.

Disclaimer: Unfortunately I **still **don't own them. It's really getting me down too. But my therapist says that one down I will get over it.

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The kiss started out intense, and grew even more passionate as Jondy deepened it.

Reluctantly, Chris pulled away, gasping for air. "Look," he said, "we don't have to do this if you don't want-"

"I want," Jondy interrupted. She then leaned in to kiss him again.

Chris backed away to try to ward her off long enough to finish what he was trying to tell her. "Really? Because after yesterday I thought…" he trailed off. While he had been putting his thoughts into words, she had directed her attention toward trailing kisses along his neck and jaw.

'Good God that feels really-Okay, focus, Chris. Just try to think of something else. Yeah, okay, this isn't working.'

He finally managed to get off of the couch and out of her reach. "I-I thought that you didn't want anything to do with me. You know, like, um, this." At the word this he gestured towards her as she reclined on the couch.

Chris had no idea what was going on with her, but she was acting very strangely. The way she was behaving was unbelievably out of character for her. Still, she was so gorgeous. Everything about her from the way she was gracefully sprawled across the couch to the way her lips were red and swollen from their kisses was absolutely beautiful.

He really needed to stop thinking like that.

But…she wanted _him_. That had never happened to him before. Usually girls liked him well enough until they met his brother. After that, he went from being hot to being _cute._ Even the word made him wince. And if _cute_ wasn't the kiss of death (and it almost always was), then they naturally thought he was nice, which was, of course, even worse. Girls always gave him the whole we-should-just-be-friends line. Those brush offs had hurt, but they were the norm really. He was a nice guy. It wasn't something he was ashamed of really, but he knew from his own experiences that the myth about nice guys finishing last was completely true.

So, why was he in his house, alone with his dream girl, and trying to convince her that she didn't want to sleep with him? He was either hallucinating or just plain crazy. Maybe it was time to see that psychiatrist.

The glitch was that…something about this whole thing didn't feel right. Being a witch had taught him to rely on his instincts, and at the moment they were screaming. As much as he wanted to believe that she felt the way about him as he did about her; the way she was acting was completely out of character. Every time she had come over to his house, she had been very professional. She was usually friendly, but a bit distant and even occasionally cold. He didn't think he had ever seen her permit anyone to so much as touch her, and now she wanted to get horizontal? It was a little bit bizarre.

Unfortunately his body didn't seem to comprehend or care how strange the situation was. It wanted what it wanted, and didn't seem to understand why he hadn't jumped her yet.

While Chris was contemplating her sudden horniness, Jondy's thoughts were becoming increasingly foggy. At the beginning of her heat cycle she had been able to reason and think, if not at her normal level, then at least well enough to function. She had still at least been herself. But she was drawing closer and closer to the apex of her cycle. Her thoughts had descended to a nearly primal level. The only thing she could think of was Chris, but she couldn't even seem to recall his name. All she knew was that he was male, she was female, and that was all that mattered. There was nothing that she could do but stare at him as he paced the floor, entranced by the movement of the muscles under his t-shirt. She wanted him. She wanted to rip the t-shirt off and trace those muscles with her fingers, then her mouth. She wanted to be able to breath in his masculine scent. She wanted-

"You need to go home."

Jondy looked up in surprise. The sudden statement was enough to get her attention, and then his words hit her.

"No," she told him firmly.

He sighed in frustration before running his hand through his hair. Jondy told little notice of the action's implications. She was only capable of observing the way his arm flexed as he raised it.

Chris glared at her, but only received a blank stare in response. Her eyes were glazed over, and her skin was very pink.

"You look pretty feverish," he said. "How about I drive you home?"

"No," she repeated angrily.

"Jondy-" he began.

"Don't you want me?" she asked quietly. Chris had seen a confident Jondy, an amused Jondy, and an indifferent Jondy. But he had never seen her display even the smallest bit of vulnerability before. She looked so small and helpless, not to mention sexy… 'Do _not_ go there Chris', he scolded himself.

"I didn't mean that," he replied soothingly. 'Don't get too close to her, Chris, I mean it.'

But by the time the mental warning came, it was too late. He was already close enough for her to reach out and pull him to her, which she did. Once he was right in front of her, she reached out and trailed her fingers down his chest. He caught her wrist to prevent any more downward movement.

Chris was having trouble breathing, and he could hear how labored her breathing was becoming as well. He pulled away again, but instead of pacing the room relentlessly again, he sat on the end of the couch and buried his head in his hands.

Jondy smirked evilly before crawling across the length of the couch to Chris' end. Once there she sat back on her heels and took in his appearance. He still had his head in his hands. She didn't think he had even noticed her move. At least not judging from the way he kept muttering something incoherent under his breath. Well, she knew how to remedy that.

She leaned over and began to suck on his neck. Chris jumped, and swung his eyes around widely before they landed on her amused expression.

He groaned tiredly, "You've got to stop doing that."

"Why would I want to do that?" she asked, a bit of the Jondy he knew shinning in her eyes. Of course, then she had to ruin it by running her fingers down his arm in a feather light caress.

He didn't know what he was doing. He needed backup. He found himself wishing his brother had stayed. That was definitely a first.

Chris tried to make her see reason, "You're not yourself."

"You sure about that? I'm a very complex person." If he hadn't already known that he needed help, he would have realized it at the moment he realized she was starting to sound perfectly reasonable.

"Yeah, no kidding," he said sarcastically.

"What is it you want from me?" Jondy asked seriously.

He looked thoughtful for a moment before replying. "I don't want to take advantage of you. Before we do anything, I want it to be something that you're sure you want. And I'm not sure you're in the right frame of mind right now to make that decision."

"I think I can make that decision for myself," she said before leaning over and kissing him again.

This time Chris didn't even try to fight her. They both wanted the same thing after all. He kissed her back. He was really starting to get into it when she pulled back. He felt a flash of disappointment before he realized that she wasn't pulling away. She was pulling him toward the stairs. Chris followed, as he tried to convince himself that he wasn't dreaming. He only hoped that she wouldn't regret it in the morning.

-

A/N: Okay, that's probably as graphic as it's going to get. Any more graphic and I'm going to have to up the rating. I'm actually not sure I shouldn't do that anyway. Please review and let me know what you think!


	20. The Morning After

A/N: Well, there is really no excuse for why this has not gotten up sooner. It's been mostly finished for a week now, but I haven't put it up 'til now. Like I said I have no excuse.

**Karone Evertree: **Yeah, I agree! Hope you like this one just as much!

**IcantthinkofaFnick: **Actually, I was hoping to get everybody kind of frustrated about it. But if it makes you feel any better, it was killing me, too.

**Zeria:** Can't say I disagree with your dad on that one. The whole time I was writing that chapter the line from Grease came to mind about how the only man a girl can trust is her daddy. So I'm glad you were with me on that. Chris isn't a bad guy, but he's not a saint either.

**Trip626: **Thanks! As for the blaming...You'll just have to read to find that out.

**phoebe turner: ** Aw, thanks!

**Calen: ** Well, I've sat here staring at my screen for a long time trying to figure out what to say to that, but…I've got nothin'.

Disclaimer: Do I own them? Do you really need to ask that question?

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Jondy twitched restlessly. She woke slowly. For the first time in a long time she had absolutely no desire to get out of bed. She was unbelievably comfortable. Well, until she recalled the images from the dream she had had the night before. At least it had just been a dream. _Some_ dream at that.

She was just about to drift back into a contented sleep when her pillow moved. Jondy went from half asleep to wide awake in a nanosecond. Her eyes were opened as wide as saucers, but all she could see was what looked like a tan expanse of skin. A chest. A very tan, very _male_ chest!

In her scramble to put some space between them, her legs were tangled up into the blankets and…

"Holy Crap!"

she went sprawling into the floor.

Jondy fell off the bed and onto the floor with a loud screech. She chanced a glance up to the bed to see that _he_ was still asleep. She let out a long breath in relief. All she had to do was get her clothes and get out before he got up or someone else saw her. It shouldn't be a problem. She was designed to be good at this sneak and creep stuff. Right? _Right_!

Realizing she was becoming hysterical she breathed in a deep breath and out slowly. The rational part of her brain told her it was just sex and that Chris was just another guy. It simply could not understand what was so different this time. The mornings after usually didn't get to her so much. Maybe it was because it was Chris, someone she knew. Someone who was kinda, sorta her friend.

Jondy didn't think it was fair. She finally met a guy who was nice and considerate and all that other stuff that guys should be (but _so_ weren't). And then thanks to her messed up hormones, she had to go and sleep with him! He probably thought she was easy now!

She slowly picked herself off the floor enough to peak at him. He certainly didn't look like he was thinking how she was. It was true about people appearing more innocent as they slept. He looked so adorable, almost angelic while he slept. As if he could sense her watching him, he shifted in his sleep, which was all well and good except it caused the sheet that was covering to drift down just a bit, which kinda ruined the whole angelic thing.

Startled out of her musings, Jondy studiously refused to look at him. Except of course for the glance or two she got from her peripheral vision. "I'm not looking. I'm _not_ looking. _Damn_ what happened to my clothes?" she muttered with frustration.

A sudden flash of memory provided the answer. She remembered kissing him, practically ripping his clothes off, as he worked on her own. It was really a miracle they had even made it to his room.

Jondy's mouth formed an 'oh' of understanding as she realized that finding them was going to be a bigger task than she had anticipated.

'Well, I can't go zipping around the house naked,' she reasoned. She looked around his room taking in the homey look and sterile cleanliness of it. 'There's got to be something in here that I can-' she broke off suddenly as she spied a green fleece blanket on a nearby shelf. She shrugged at his taste in color muttering "more of a blue person myself" as she wrapped it around herself toga style.

"Not exactly runway material but it'll do for now," she stated content now that she had a mission. "Now what happened to those panties?" she wondered aloud.

Jondy sucked on her bottom lip as she waltzed around the room looking for anything that might be her underwear. She didn't even see anything that remotely resembled them. She stopped beside the bed in puzzlement. "I thought the rooms of teenage boys were supposed to be pig sties," she thought curiously.

"Looking for something?" A voice behind her asked calmly.

Jondy squealed, jumped, and very nearly lost her blanket. "Don't _do_ that," she said as she turned to face him. He had an amused look on his face. She had the sudden desire to punch him.

He laughed for a second before the expression slide off his face to be replaced by one of regret. "Look, I know you're probably mad about last night. I know you're probably feeling really taken advantage of right now. And if you never want to talk to me again I'll understand but I wanted you to know that I-I never meant to hurt you."

Jondy was too numb struck for a few long moments to do anything but gape. 'Well, knock me over with a feather.' She took in his hung head and slumped shoulders with alarm. Without even thinking the action through, she sat down beside him on the bed and soothingly rubbed his shoulder.

"It wasn't your fault. You can't blame yourself. I wasn't myself. I shouldn't have been anywhere near you yesterday," she admitted.

"But I _knew_ that. I knew that something was wrong. I should have just taken you home instead of thinking about my stupid hormones," he berated yourself as she watched worriedly.

'Thinking about or thinking with?' Of course it wasn't like she could talk. She had practically jumped him! 'Not even practically.' "Chris," Jondy stated clearly and with authority. "It wasn't your fault, okay? I don't blame you. Will you please stop being so neurotic?"

Something she said got through to him because he straightened himself up and managed to look her in the eye.

"Neurotic?" he asked with a small smile.

"Yes neurotic," she responded with more than a little bit of relief. She was no good at dealing with depressed people.

"My mom always says I'm neurotic…and the aunts…and Wyatt…and my dad," Chris added wistfully.

Jondy was glad to see that he didn't seem to be blaming himself at the moment. "Well I'd have to say that I'm starting to see a bit of a pattern," she said helpfully. "Did I meet your dad?" she asked as an afterthought.

"I don't think so," Chris responded.

"What's he like," Jondy asked curiously. Having never had much of an example for a father figure herself Jondy wanted to know what it was like to grow up with loving parents the way that Chris obviously had.

Chris paused a moment before replying, "He's alright I guess. He likes Wyatt better."

Jondy chuckled, "Yeah, right."

He looked at her incredulously, "Why not? Everyone else seems to."

Jondy shrugged nonchalantly, "There really is no accounting for taste."

"What do you mean? Surely you don't mean that you don't like Wyatt. Everyone does," he finished softly.

"Well I don't like him," Jondy said determinedly.

"You're just saying that."

Jondy glared at him angrily. "I am not. He's way too flirty and slick for my taste."

"You're serious?" Chris asked disbelievingly.

"Some of the time."

"Jondy!"

"What? Do you have a problem with me liking you better?" she demanded.

"No. No _problem_," Chris said as he tried to hide his laughter.

Without warning Jondy reached up and slugged him on his bare arm.

"Ouch," he moaned. "That really hurt. So you hit all the people you like?"

When Jondy replied, she straightened her back and spoke her words primly. "I never said that I liked you," she told him with an upturned nose for added affect.

"Well, you did admit that you liked me better than Wyatt."

"So? Are we grading on a curve?" she quipped with raised eyebrows.

"I will get you to admit it, one way or another," he stated determinedly. "No matter what it takes, or what techniques it forces me to employ," he finished with a wicked grin. Before his words could sink in, he had her pinned on his bed and had begun the tickle torture. It didn't take him long to find the spots on her side that were the most sensitive.

They enjoyed the tickle war for several minutes, until they were both out of breath and had with aching sides.

He stared down at her and found himself getting drawn in by her once again. "I've never met anyone like you."

"I have no trouble believing that. Ya know, for what it's worth, I've never met anyone like you, either."

"Really?" he asked happily.

"Really," she replied with just enough edge to her voice to make him wonder whether or not that was a good thing. Luckily he didn't have to wonder long, "Your emotions change quicker than anyone I've ever seen. You don't seem to hang out much with other guys, other than Darryl. You don't talk about football or video games all day long. And finally, and this one I really cannot take, your room is clean. In fact it's a lot cleaner than mine. I have the urge to just start throwing things to establish some normalcy around here."

"So you think I'm strange?" he questioned.

Jondy sort of shrugged and nodded which she managed to make graceful even lying down with him still half on top of her. "And a little bit cute, too, I'll admit."

Chris groaned loudly before rolling completely off of her and sitting on the edge of the bed.

"What?"

"I guess I'll let you get back to your clothes now," he half groaned, half sighed.

Jondy shrugged before going back on the panty hunt. His change in behavior puzzled her, but she knew him well enough now to just go with the flow. Still this was odd, even for him.

"Did I say something?" she asked.

"You think I'm _cute_," he stated, practically spitting out the last word.

"Yeah, is there another connotation to that word I should know about?" Jondy demanded to his back. It was really hard to be demanding to a back, but she was going to try damn it!

"You think that this is all a great big mistake that you want to pretend didn't happen. You don't want anyone at school to know what happened between us, so you think you have to be nice to me so I won't tell anyone. Well, don't worry about that, I won't tell them. You can quit pretending that you want to be anything more than friends, if that," he said with enough venom to make even her draw back. Well, almost.

"You got all that from cute? Guess I should have used a different word. Would adorable have been better? Precocious, maybe?" Where had the normal Chris gone? This Chris was far too grumpy for her tastes.

"What difference would it have made? It all boils down to the same thing."

Who, she wondered, had made him so cynical about the world, so unable to completely let down her guard. Of course, she was much the same way, but it would have been impossible not to be, given the givens. So Chris had a more painful life than it looked like on the surface. Surely there was something she of all people could do to comfort him.

Sensing that words weren't enough she sat up on the bed half beside, half behind him. She leaned her head against his neck and nuzzled her cheek against it like a cat. Working on instinct, she brushed her nose across his shoulders and back up his neck to his jaw. He smelled unbelievably good, like fresh, clean male. And like her. Her scent was all over him. She let her nose continue its trek and had the sudden urge to let out a low purr.

He turned to her, and she realized that something that had begun as a need to comfort had suddenly turned into something…more. His gaze drifted to her lips. She felt the silent question from those rapidly darkening eyes. He leaned in slowly, giving her time to move or turn away, but she did neither. He leaned in to kiss her, and she let him, fully surrendering to the sensation.

_Jondy _let him. She couldn't blame Manticore this time. She let him kiss her. She even kissed him back. As he pulled her back into bed she couldn't help but think that maybe cute really wasn't the right word to describe him after all.

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End file.
